


What Blooms in the Dark

by Twintaileddragon



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Champion Reader - Freeform, F/M, Feels, Mystery, Post-Game, Quick-Together, Romance, quickly established relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:00:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22277509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twintaileddragon/pseuds/Twintaileddragon
Summary: Leon always spoke of the annual Gym Leader Cruise as if it was pure paradise. It figures that the year you get to finally attend everything goes wrong. The Gym Leaders assumed their annual vacation would go off without a hitch but the boat ends up capsized off the coast of an island shrouded in dark. More mysteriously, the town on it seems abandoned. At least that's what they all thought at first.Something doesn't want you here and with food running low and no way to contact anyone it seems like you and your friends may just fall victim to it.
Relationships: Nezu | Piers (Pokemon)/Reader
Comments: 41
Kudos: 131





	1. Cruising

**Author's Note:**

> You may remember this story. It was briefly taken down to rework it because I liked the premise but I didn't like my lead up. So, I reworked it and reposted it.  
> I hope you all like the mystery. It's something more lighthearted to go side by side with my serious Piers story.

The closer you walked to the grandiose boat it seemed to tower over the whole land. From far away, the boat looked normal but it soon dwarfed the land before it. The wharf was alive with the sounds of people and pokemon alike. The sound of Wingull's cawing filled the air as the birds seemed to circle the vessel. As you approached the loading dock, your eyes filled with excitement and wonder, you heard your best friend behind you. He sounded strained but happy.

"This week is going to be Amazing! I can't wait to put all this luggage down in our suite, Y/n!"

"I know right!" You beamed, practically jumping in place as you turned to see him. "Hop, thank you so much for coming with me."

"Anything for you! Besides, with you gone for a week, I'd be unbelievably bored."

"Don't stop moving you two," The taller man behind Hop grinned. His teeth were so white you thought they might blind you. His smile was, as always, still infectious. "The ship leaves in 20 minutes. I want to help you both on with your luggage and then get out of here."

"Thanks for seeing us off, Leon." Hop practically drooled, "You told so many stories about the Gym Retreats! I'm excited to actually experience them!"

"I'm surprised they let Y/n bring you along, to be honest," Leon mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "I never exercised my right as Champion to bring a plus one! I guess you never know what you have until it's gone!"

"I'm kind of nervous to spend a week with all the Gym Leaders." You admitted, scratching your cheek nervously. Hop cocked his head to the side confused but Leon seemed to understand what you meant. "I just... I don't know them all that well. I know Marnie and Piers... and Bede... but I feel like they all know each other so well and I'll be an awkward tagalong." Leon focused more on what you meant but Hop just liked that nervous tonal shift when you mentioned Piers and Bede. He started to laugh to himself about it.

"I know exactly where you're coming from." Leon folded his arms and nodded, having absorbed every word. "It's hard to branch out. I believe that this trip will bring you out of your shell! You're really going to blossom on this trip, Y/n."

* * *

The hallways of vessels like this always seemed so narrow. The space was practically claustrophobic and the nauseating ornate carpet that decorated the halls could give someone sea sickness on its own. The deep blues made the hall insufferable and you couldn't be happier when you entered your room and were greeted with White carpet. You and Hop immediately dropped everything you were carrying, jumping on the beds and laying back on them with a satisfied sigh. Leon just laughed, happily picking up your stuff for you and moving it more towards the center of your suite.

"You two are adorable. You sure you both can share this room?"

"There are two beds. We'll be fine." Hop breathed, "Even if it turns out we can't, this liner must have more suites they aren't using-"

"This boat may look big but It has very few rooms," Leon smirked, "but I think you'll both be alright. If you need space though, ask the captain to swap you with Marnie."

"Thanks for helping us-"

"Leon?" A voice from the hall caught your attention and Leon stepped in the hall to see who was calling him. He quickly grows elated, moving out of the view of the door to embrace someone. You look back up to the ceiling, only able to listen to the exchange anyway. "Leon!"

"Raihan!"

"What are you doing here? One last year of vacation?"

"Nothing like that. I was helping Hop and Y/n with their stuff." The Dragon leader peered into the room, giving you and Hop a quick wave. "I'm headed out now that they're settled-"

"Boat left the dock already-"

"What!?" Leon panicked, "B-But I'm not supposed to be here! I don't even have a suitcase on me!"

"I remember one year you were supposed to be on this boat and still forgot your suitcase. We'll just do what we did back then. Share with me, mate."

"Thanks, Raihan. Sorry about this."

"You're really going to join us, Leon?" Hop asked, bolting upright. The glimmer in his eyes was puppy-like. "You can share this bed with me!"

"I may have to take you up on that." The man let out a nervous laugh, "If that's alright with the Champion."

"I'm alright with it."

"Well, Come on," Raihan scoffed, "No use sticking to the rooms! Everyone is upstairs."

* * *

"The boat left, so I guess I'm stuck," The black and white-haired rocker groaned, leaning against the railing of the ship and watching the land get left behind. His sister pat his back in condolence.

"Well... wasn't anticipating another cruise since you took the mantle but looks like you aren't shankin' me this weekend, after all, Marnie."

"I'm glad you're here," She mumbled softly, "I only really know Hop and Y/n here..."

"They're good company." He started fiddling with his choker at the mention of you. A whole week trapped on a boat with you. The last time the rocker spent with you was the nursery off in the wild area. He brought you along to watch baby Toxels hatch. His cheeks burned just thinking about it. Marnie raised a brow and he noticed that he hadn't said anything in quite some time. "Try and have a good time Marnie. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Piers."

"Hey Piers!" Leon's voice boomed from the other side of the deck. At first, Piers sighed but then he realized Leon shouldn't be here either. He turned around to see the gentle giant waving at him with you and Hop at his side. "You got stuck here too?"

"Hell of a way to start a vacation, right? As a stowaway and all that."

"It is so good to see all of you!" An older woman said with a smile. Her puffy white hair was so large sometimes you wondered how she stood upright. "I have been looking forward to this for months!"

"Good to see you Melony!" Began an Elderly woman. Beside her, a young man stood. He seemed to be a mix of shy and agitated. Who knows with him which one is more prevalent. "Bede, dear, you put our stuff in the room, correct?"

"Yes, Opal. I don't understand why no one helped me with those bags."

"Big surprise, Bede is already complaining" Hop whispered to you, making you snicker. Seeing you both relax between the two of you, Marnie smiled, headed over to join in. Hop greeted her with an even bigger smile. "Hey, Marnie! You and your brother match!"

"Y-Yeah. I'm the Spikemuth Gym Leader now."

"That's awesome!" Hop's enthusiasm made her flinch but she gave a shy thank you. You all took a minute to look around the boat. Gym leaders were all over, conversing with one another, and taking in the scenery. Hop couldn't contain himself, his cheeks hurting from his grin. "Look at us. We're going on vacation with the strongest trainers in all of Galar."

"And Bede," Marnie joked. She didn't think anyone heard it until you laughed. The girl grew embarrassed and stared off out to sea. "I should take this time to relax and come out of my shell... I do wish I could have brought Morpeko with me."

"The no Pokemon rule is dumb," You admitted with a shrug, "You have no idea how painful it was to leave my belt behind."

"I think the point of it is to get us to spend time with each other and relax. Connections with your pokemon are important but connections with people are important too!"

"Good guess." An airy voice made all 3 of you jump and Allister seemed to appear out of nowhere. The child cocked his head to the side and seemed to be cowering a little. "The real reason no pokemon are allowed is Leon and Raihan almost wrecked the ship a few years back because they kept battlin'... It was ace."

"That makes sense too." Hop started. Allister began to wander off and you and Marnie couldn't help but watch the spooky kid walk away. "This boat is filled with trainers that always want to test their mettle! I guess they'd have to ban pokemon to keep the trainers from battling."

"Still dumb." You chimed in, "I didn't want to leave my team at a nursery so I asked my mom to watch them."

"I'm lucky I took my team to a nursery," Marnie breathed, "I wanted Piers to watch them but he told me to put them in a nursery to be safe. Glad I did since he's stuck here."

"I'm kind of glad he's here," You started, looking over at the rocker. He was just leaning against the railing, shooting the breeze with Leon. You looked at their hips and felt a bit less tense. " Because they got stranded on the boat Leon and Piers actually have their pokemon with them. That will come in handy in case of an emergency."

"The crew is supposed to have pokemon in case of an emergency but I haven't seen one crew member since we boarded. It's almost like we're on this ship alone." Marnie's observation made you think back. There were plenty of crew members, or so you thought, wandering around on the dock. You tried to recall if you saw anyone on the ship but memory failed you. You scanned the crowd one more time, seeing a lot of familiar faces talking to each other. Milo and Nessa were wrapped up in a conversation and it looked like Kabu and Raihan were chatting with Leon. You have no clue where Allister went but that's kind of his thing. Melony and Opal were pinching Bede's cheeks and you took a moment to laugh at that. This was going to be an interesting week.


	2. Sinking Feelings

"Night Hop! Night Leon!"

"Night Y/n!" The brothers said in tandem. You rolled over in bed, cuddled up, and prepared to let sleep take you. Hop had other plans, too excited to sleep. He couldn't sit still and kept speaking his mind, forcing your eyes open after a brief few seconds of silence. "This is going to be the best week ever!"

"It sure is," You quickly agreed, hoping Hop would take the hint. He didn't continue to gush. His brother was equally clueless and they both were simply staring up at the cabin ceiling.

"I can't wait to wake up and eat! I hear the breakfast here is incredible!"

"You heard that from me!"

"I Did!"

"I don't think I can sleep," You groaned, sitting up and hopping out of bed. "I'm going to take a walk and... blow off this energy."

"Alright, Be careful!" Leon sounded so sweet that you were glad he didn't pick up on the fact you were annoyed. You left the room quickly to prevent them from figuring it out. Bless those idiots. You would rather be in a deep sleep. You just had to stay awake long enough for them to go to bed. You began to wander, taking the time to mentally map out the boat. 

Once you stepped foot on the deck you shivered, a gust of wind blew by with a chill. You tried to shake it off but night on the open seas was colder than you anticipated. You took a few steps, creaking onto the deck and out into the open, unaware that you weren't alone. From here, the sky was bright. You could see all of space presented before you on the near dark deck.

"Chilly?" You stumbled hearing a sudden voice. You didn't notice Piers when you emerged from below deck, yet he was leaning against the wall right beside the door. The rocker was caught off guard by your arrival but happy if anyone woke up at least it was you. His arms were folded in a terrible attempt to keep himself warm. "Yeah, It's cold out here."

"You can't sleep either?"

"Got nowhere to sleep," He shrugged, "I wasn't 'sposed to be on this boat. It's no easy fix for me like it is for Leon. He can share a bed with his brother... I can't exactly share a bed with my sister."

"Rough."

"Yeah." He breathed, looking up to the twinkling sky. You shuffled foot to foot before making your choice. You leaned against the wall right beside him, copying him in his stargazing. He smiled with a happy huff but never stopped looking up. The rocker wasn't a quiet person by any means but you didn't see him trying to spark up a conversation. You tried to think of something to talk about, many topics buzzing through your head before you settled on one.

"Ever had fun during one of these things?"

"Hell No," Piers scoffed. He managed to get a chuckle out of you and the sound warmed him up a little bit. It warmed his cheeks at least. "I prefer my home. It may not be nirvana to everyone else to turn the light off in your bedroom and the window glows intense colors from the vast array of neon lights... but I love it. I'd rather be in my own bed falling asleep to the sounds of a busy city that never sleeps."

"That's poetic." You noted, "... You ever thought about writing a song about it-"

"Already have." You both gave a nervous laugh followed by more silence from the night. You admired to silence for a moment before the sound of groaning metal got you and Piers to look at each other. "... We both heard that, right?"

Not a second later the ship slanted right under your feet sending you and piers falling down the sloping wood. You gained speed fast, slamming into the side rail of the boat with a sickening crack. Piers landed beside you, the metal railing snapping and causing the rocker to fall right off it and into the water. You couldn't help but yelp. Ignoring the sharp pain in your stomach you kicked off the deck and dove in after him.

You grabbed the rocker's hand, trying to swim to the surface but it felt like all you were doing was sinking. The surface seemed to only get farther and farther away and the sea that enveloped you grew dark and cold. Your hand let go of Piers and bubbles escaped you. Suddenly your waisted was yanked up and you were diving lower. The blue hand that grabbed you dived down for Pierce and everything seemed so hazy that you didn't catch what was happening until you were once again in the cold night air. You took in a sharp breath and grabbed your ribs, Hop's familiar voice was the only clear sound.

"Y/n! Leon, She's hurt!"

"Piers, Can you breathe?" You heard Leon say. You began to make out basic shaped but you still took a while to figure out you were in Hop's arms. You tried to look over to Piers and Leon but the pain was too great. "Piers!?"

"I-I'm fine," He answered with a cough, presumably spitting out seawater, "T-The fuck happened."

"Language," Melony warned... from wherever she was," There are children here."

"Child. Singular." Bede corrected. "Only Allister is underage."

"Crumbs." You heard the child say. It would have been funny if you weren't completely confused. It took you a moment to register that you were moving and even longer to learn that your transportation was alive. the leathery skin of the Seismitoad was jarring but your body didn't react in any way. You just couldn't move.

"We're lucky you got stranded Leon," Nessa struggled to catch her breath. "Your Seisimitoad saved our lives."

"Yeah, talk about luck." Leon started. "There's an Island over there too! I can see buildings so we can get some help!"

"An island?" Piers seemed to struggle to get the words out, his voice scratchy and irritated. "...There's never been an island before... I think? Did we ever pass an island on this cruise before?"

"Maybe," Kabu started, the older man rubbing his chin as he thought. "Perhaps because by the time we pass it we're always in bed."

"Let's just get to land and find a pokemon center," Raihan said. His voice seemed to get closer to you and you felt the wet fabric on your stomach being moved. " I think Y/n broke a rib or two."

"Shit, That looks bad." Piers mumbled, subsequently getting scolded by Melony. You tried to position your neck to see your stomach but Hop kept your propped back. He kept telling you not to worry and that everything was going to be okay. All you wanted was to go to sleep. Maybe now was a good time.

* * *

Through your slumber, the only sounds that seemed to come through were wooden creaks. For a while that was it and it had started to become oddly relaxing. That seemed to break after some time. The sounds of voices began to break through your unconsciousness. First, you could piece together words, then sentences, then conversations as you lay there.

"Leon isn't back." Hop's voice. He sounded concerned. "I'm not going to bed until he gets back."

"We all need a good night's sleep before we do anything drastic." Melony. Of course, she'd take charge. You began to feel your surroundings as well. Someone was hovering over you. They hadn't spoken yet so you didn't know their identity. "Leon will be back once he's caught some pokemon for us to use."

"Hopefully one can fly." Marnie's voice. She sounded far away. She must be on the other side of the room. "Y/n needs a doctor."

"While medical attention would be preferred, she will be just fine." Kabu. The old man sounded like he was the one right above you. "With what we found we've been able to work wonders. I can't guarantee the soreness or bruising will go away but I can promise you that nothing serious is afflicting her."

"I hope she's alright." Piers. His voice startled you. You weren't expecting the rocker to be right beside you as you didn't sense another presence. Your startled shimmy must have been visible as Piers made a noise that seemed as if he was surprised to see you move. He confirmed it quickly. "I think she's waking up."

"I'd prefer if she went back to sleep," Melony sighed, "There's nothing we can do tonight anyway."

"Someone could take Leon's Seismitoad to the mainland." Bede. Bede seemed just as pissy as always. He sounded like he was moving around, likely pacing the immediate area. He would let out an annoyed huff every so often. You stirred again but it went unnoted. "Then we can get help."

"We don't even know which way the mainland is," Piers snapped, "This Island isn't documented. If you want to swim endlessly in one direction until you hit something be my guest."

"Let's all calm down." Milo. The country boy sounded puzzled but more optimistic than everyone else. You couldn't figure out where he was, as there was a slight echo that made it difficult to discern. "Once Leon catches some pokemon and passes them around everything will be okay."

"Well... not okay. Just better." Piers corrected. You opened your eyes with a flutter but there was nothing. Either you were blind or the room you were in was dark. You determined it was dark when you could see the shadows of a flickering candle on the ceiling. Piers looked down at you for a moment, his intentions to take another glance at your peacefully sleeping face. This time, your eyes were slightly open. You didn't seem coherent, though. "Y/n? She's up. Thank goodness."

"You had us worried," Kabu put a hand to his heart, truly relieved to see you awake. You had half a mind to point out that he said you were okay just a minute ago, but even though you opened your mouth you didn't speak. Hop gasped, running over to your bedside quickly.

"Y/n! You had us all scared! Are you alright?"

"...What happened and where are we?"

"Naturally, the Champion is concerned with things that actually matter," Bede complimented, happy that someone was concerned about their predicament. "We're stranded on an island that no one knows exists and survived because Leon had a water pokemon. Our survival will be prolonged because Piers brought pokeballs with him and Leon is out trying to fill them with something useful."

"We're settled down in an old Pokecenter." Melony continued softly. She knelt to your bedside with a reassuring smile, not wanting you to worry. She took your hand, her warm touch making you realize just how cold your body felt. "The machinery doesn't work but there are plenty of cots for everyone to rest for the night."

"Shocked the systems with my Toxtricity to try and get this show on the road," Piers began nervously, "The thing that heals pokemon got booted up... The phone's dead as a doornail."

"All we need to do is figure out which direction is Galar and head that way, either with flying or water pokemon." Nessa hummed, "Figuring that out though is the tricky part. This town has no maps, no signs that tell us what its name is, and there aren't any clues that we saw on the way here that indicates there's any landmass nearby."

"Melony is right," Allister spoke, seemingly out of nowhere and scaring Milo and Nessa. "We sleep... We figure it out in the morning... We're limited at night."


	3. In Ramshackle Ruins

There was no rising sun. The atmosphere changed outside from a pitch-black to a dull grey. Buildings appeared out of the fog as night became day and one by one everyone awoke with groans and grunts. The cots noisy creaks filled the room as everyone hopped to their feet. You tried to sit up, letting out a pained whimper that grabbed the attention of a few people. Hop and Marnie rushed to your side, each grabbing an arm to try and help you get out of bed. Piers lent a hand as well, helping get your feet off the bed. Once you were standing you wobbled a bit but adjusted quickly. Your legs felt like jello and Piers was nice enough to let you lean against him while you adjusted. The pain on your face made him protective.

"Don't rush, Not like we have anywhere to be."

"Leon!" Hop cheered, realizing his brother had returned. Leon crept off a cot from the corner, opening his arms to embrace his quickly approaching brother in a hug. "When did you get back!?"

"Very late last night," The man laughed, "I caught a total of 10 pokemon. I put them all in my bag. Everyone make sure you grab one. You're going to need to train whatever you grab."

"Anything that can fly us out of here? Or swim?" Bede questioned, tapping his foot nervously. Leon shook his head, disappointing a good number of you.

"Not yet anyway. They're all fairly young and inexperienced pokemon. It took all night just to fill all 10 pokeballs. Water pokemon didn't want to come close to the island. I think they're scared of it."

"Relatable." Allister nodded, scaring Melony and Kabu as he appeared almost out of nowhere between them. "I don't want to be here either..."

"I think we need to focus on figuring out where exactly we are." Melony began, petting Allister's head. He seemed to respond well to it, almost like a puppy. "Let's all split up and search buildings. Even finding the name of one could be a clue!"

"We don't have our Rotom Phones on us," Nessa groaned. Her words just rained sarcasm and Milo took her side quickly to try and keep her calm. "Never thought I'd regret going on a device-free week to be one with the ocean and yet here we are! Even if we discover a clue we have no means of looking it up."

"We'll have to rely on our own skills of survival." Milo posed, putting a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. She still pouted. "Nessa, you're a catch that knows how to catch. You could probably wrangle up something to eat on the water."

"I could... I need a few things. I need a net and a pokemon that can swim."

"You can borrow my Seismitoad," Leon offered, reaching to his ball belt and throwing a ball over to Nessa. She caught it and flashed a quick smile as thanks. "It would be good for everyone to eat."

"Then I'm on it! Milo, you know foragables better than anyone, see if you can wrestle up something too!"

"I'll get right to that!" He and Nessa shared a high five, headed out the door to do their part.

"I'm going to search the building next door," Bede announced, walking over to Leon's bag and grabbing a ball off the top. "I suppose I'll start bonding with... whatever this is."

"I was too tired to label them, sorry... or remember what I caught." Leon seemed embarrassed at the confession but Raihan found it hilarious, slapping his own knee.

"I'll join you, Bede," Raihan offered, that dragon trainer taking one of the balls as well, "I'll use this time to really hone my skills of raising pokemon."

"That's the spirit!" Melony sang, "Any experience can be a learning experience." Allister waddled over, taking a ball out of the bag for himself. You broke away from Piers and went to grab a ball as well.

"I'm headed to that little building across the way." Allister drawled, "Anyone want to follow?"

"I'll come with you Allister." Marnie started, grabbing a ball. She stared at the ord, wondering what was waiting inside. "Let's go outside and see what we have."

"Hold on Marnie, I'll go with you-"

"Let's keep it to a team of 2 with exploring," Leon ordered. Piers shot him a look but the man stood his ground. "We're limited. 2 people exploring one building is enough. Plus, the one across the street is pretty small. They should be okay."

"Fine," Piers spat. "I'll check the one next to it."

"Hop, You want to go searching with me?" You asked. Hop scratched the back of his head, looking at Leon every so often. You just smiled. "I get it though if you'd rather team up with your brother! No pressure."

"Thanks, Y/n. I just think exploring this place with Leon would be so cool! I'll never get another chance like this!"

"You can come with me if you don't want to go alone." Piers offered, finally grabbing a ball for himself. "I'll take one to train myself. I have my pokemon but If I can help train the younguns I'll do that."

* * *

The streets seemed so desolate. The colorful town had broken signage and windows all over the place. It reminded you of Hammerlocke if there were no people and a fiery tornado came through. Some of these buildings had clear fire damage and some were falling apart thanks to the harsh saltwater hanging on the air. You threw your pokeball, a familiar Silhouette turning into the form of a very floppy fish. You let out an annoyed groan and Piers pursed his lips. He deemed that laughing at you probably wasn't nice.

"Really Leon?" You complained, "A Magikarp?"

"If Nessa comes up empty at least we can eat it."

"What did you get?"

"Let's find out." Piers simply held his ball up to release his pokemon and you bent down to pick up your new pet fish. You held the floppy fella in your arms, trying to ignore that he was slapping against the huge bruise on your stomach. His pokemon was familiar to him and the rocker's eye lit up to see the small pink creature jumping foot to foot. "An Impadimp. Lucky me."

"Lucky bastard." He smirked. As he bent down to pick up his new friend the pokemon fell on it's butt and began to loudly cry. You flinched and Piers just laughed.

"Ah. Bit of a cry baby, aren't ya? Don't worry little thing, I know how to take care of you." He softened his tone, cradling the tiny pokemon in his arms. His whisper seemed to calm the creature. It's crying began to slow down. "You don't have to be afraid, little guy..."

"....Is it a guy?"

"100% Male gender ratio. I've raised a couple of these things. Enough to last a lifetime." Piers spoke so passionately as he cradled the baby. You couldn't help but smile. When the rocker finally noticed the look you were giving him he froze before giving a nervous cough. "A-Anyway, we should get searchin'. I know Magikarps are hard to train... if you aren't used to doing it. You can take this Impidimp. If you need help just let me know."

* * *

From the moment you entered the building you could hear a steady drip of water. The entire place was dark and the light from the door you entered only lit up a few feet into the room. The windows were boarded and removing them didn't seem like a good idea. Piers let out his Toxitricity. The pokemon let out a spirited yell and it's hands sparked to show you bursts of the room at a time. You put Magikarp back in his pokeball, unable to handle him and the darkness. Sticking close to Piers was the best option. Piers seemed too annoyed by his own failing plan to notice anyway. There had to be some way to light the room. The Impadimp in his arms started making cute noises, climbing Piers's hair curiously. Suddenly Piers ducked, grabbing something off the floor and holding it out to his Toxitricity.

"Light it up, mate. It'll be our torch." The spark ignited the top of the magazine and while the orange glow of the room wasn't much clearer, at least it was light. With that, you could now see you were in a corner store of some kind. Piers holding the fire scared the Impadimp. He jumped off his head and latched onto you instead, climbing all over you before crawling in your shirt and cowering underneath it like a scared kitten.

"H-Hey!"

"He's comfortable with you. That's good.""Maybe too comfortable." You joked, forcing a laugh from the rocker. You stared around the place for a moment, noting the lake of any items on shelves and ransacked items left behind. You realized Piers was still staring at you and the bulge in your shirt and mumbled a response. "...He has sharp little claws."

"Well, They're used to slashing and scratching... not used to cuddling up to breasts. Let's check the second story." He beckoned you to follow, not able to see in this lighting that his phrasing embarrassed you. The narrow stairwell he disappeared into looked menacing but you toughed it out and followed him up. He opened the door at the top opening to reveal the second floor. The room was much more lit, the Rocker smashed the burning magazine against the wall to put out the fire.  
This room was a destroyed studio apartment, the kitchenette sink still running and halfway flooding the room. As you entered, Toxitricity waddled in and Piers sent him back to his ball immediately.

"Someone lived above this shop." You lamely concluded. You felt embarrassed at the simple answer and decided to make some more assumptions. "Uh, There's a lot of dirty dishes... The bed looks destroyed-"

"Pantry is empty," Piers noted, pointing to the open door n the corner. "Looks like the only thing left behind in there are perishables and things you can't easily make... all rotten."

"There are no clothes in the drawers either. All the drawers are pulled out."

"Either someone left in a hurry or this place was looted. Can't tell which one." The Impadimp took a moment to pop it's head out of your chest, looking around with excited eyes. "Come to think of it, store part looked jacked too... probably looted."

"What could have happened here that people started looting?"

"Nothing good." Piers turned to you to theorize some more but cracked up unexpectedly. He locked eyes with the little pokemon and you didn't even notice the Impadimp until you looked at Piers. "... He's getting right used to being in there."

"I want to pull him out but I'm afraid he'll scratch me. So... he can stay."

"You could always send 'em back to his ball." Piers tossed you the pokeball with no warning so you didn't feel too bad when it flew right past you. You went after it as it rolled under a table but bending down to get it was going to be painful. You braced yourself but Piers was faster, bending down and picking it up for you. "Sorry. Shoudn't've tossed it."

"No worries. I'm getting used to the limitation myself-"

"What the hell?" Piers said breathlessly, noticing something under the table. The ball had rested near a book, which looked much newer than everything around it. Piers picked up both, putting Impadimp away and freeing you from the needy pokemon for a moment. The rocker gestured for you to come closer, trying to let you look in the book as well. "There's a journal here."

"Looks clean... pages are barely wrinkled..."

"Things full... Every last page is filled, " He fanned the pages out, the chicken scratch handwriting resembling the scrawlings of a mad man. Piers returned to the first page to see what he could decipher.

" 'I've been here 5 days now. I decided that it was time to start gathering my thoughts. The first 2 days just seemed like an average day, as average as it can be when you're stranded on an island. Things started to change on day 3. I don't know what is here or what caused this devastation but it is hunting me. It wants to make me disappear just like the town time forgot."

"...Whoa."

"I know right... That'd be a bitchin' song-"

"Piers!"

"R-Right... Let's see," The rockers skipped a few pages, a little blush on his cheeks. " Hmm Let's see... 'It is here. It is watching. What does it want? I have nothing. Nothing is left. It's just me. What does it want.'... That's just a few days later and there are a lot more pages."

"Do they all say that?" He fanned through the book one more time, shaking his head.

"He keeps repeating those words but in between, he says some other stuff... I'll look through this and see what I can figure out."

"I want to look, too!" You pouted, your lip quiver making Piers roll his eyes. He couldn't get rid of that smirk though "Solving whatever this is may help us get out of here."

"OR it only proves that we have to get the hell out of dodge FASTER. Either way, let's keep this hush hush. If we tell everyone we have this time limit it could start chaos... right now we need to keep a cool head and work together. I don't want anyone to get scared."

"Got it, It's our little secret."


	4. 2 Hearts Beating

As you and Piers walked back over to the pokemon center you ran into Nessa, dragging a torn bedsheet full of fish behind her. The net was full and wriggling and you and Piers stomachs seemed to rumble in unison at the sight.

"Finally, food."

"Since you're going to be hanging onto the journal do you plan on investigating without me?"

"I'm not interested in this mystery as much as I just want to get us the hell out of here..." He began. However, midsentence he realized this was a good chance to spend some one-on-one time with you. His face grew hot and he scratched his cheek nervously. "I won't read it without you though. When everyone goes to bed meet me in the alley by the pokecenter. We'll go off somewhere private." You nodded, trying not to be flustered at how bad that could have sounded out of context. The rocker headed for the center, calling for Nessa to see if she needed help with her haul. You managed to giggle about it before being thoroughly startled when a tiny hand poked you in the back, scaring the life out of you. Thankfully, it was Allister.

"How'd your search turn out?"

"Oh um, no good." You lied, rubbing your arm nervously. The kick cocked his head to the side. He didn't seem to believe you. "Found nothing distinguishing. No food or anything either."

"Neither did we," Marnie spoke up, approaching you from the other side of the street. She seemed perturbed so you tried to offer your most sincere smile. "Place looks like it was turned upside down but we found nothing. You and Piers find anything at all?" You shook your head. The girl's eyes darted around the ruined city, clearly trying to think of something. "Something bad happened here."

"Something bad happens everywhere," Allister said darkly. "What happened here was evil."

"... This kid freaks me out sometimes-"

"Hey, Y/n!" Hop yelled to you. You turned around to look at him, seeing him and his brother. They seemed very happy, then again they didn't know what you did. "We pass by Milo on the way back! He found an overgrown vegetable garden! We're trying to find stuff for him to carry it all in!"

"That's great. I'll help you find something." You offered. The men grinned at you and you quickly ran to help them. Marnie watched as you left and couldn't help but smile weakly.

* * *

Piers munched on a fish, not expecting someone to just appear at his side. Marnie's sudden 'Hello' made the man start choking. Marnie quickly pat his back to help. He nearly fell out of the window he was sitting in, one leg propped up in the window sill and the other hanging down precariously.

"Shit girl. Almost killed me... Everything Alright, Marnie?"

"Allister overheard that you and Y/n are sneaking out." The Rocker's face dropped as he tried to think of some sort of excuse. Of all people he didn't want Marnie to know something dangerous was out there. He wanted to protect her from that. "Piers-"

"Marnie, I can explain."

"We're family-"

"I know, Please-"

"I thought you could tell me anything-"

"Absolutely-"

"So why didn't you tell me you and Y/n were dating?" He had no response for that. Piers's mouth just hung open. "Is it because she's Champion? You don't want your relationship to be public or anything?"

"What?"

"Why keep it a secret? You think I don't know but I know you've liked her for a while." Piers finally wrapped his head around the accusation. This was actually perfect. Piers decided to run with it. He put his hands up in pseudo defeat. To be honest he did feel slightly defeated. How did Marnie find out he liked you like that?

" You caught me, Marnie. She's my girlfriend." He wishes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"To be honest," He started, prepared fully to lie, "I um... didn't want to make things... awkward between you two. Since you're friends and all."

"It's not awkward Piers, This is great. I'm so happy for you." The man smiled, mussing up his sister's hair. It would be heartwarming if this was an actual relationship. He tried to take a deep breath but found it hard to exhale. The Rocker froze completely when you entered the room with Hop and Leon. This rickety pokemon center and his lies slowly becoming a prison around him.

* * *

Kabu and Bede set up a long wooden table, preparing it to serve food to everyone. Opal and Melony cooked up a magnificent feast, trying so hard to keep everyone's spirits high in these conditions. Leon and Piers released their pokemon and everyone else let their little ones loose. The Impadimp returned to you immediately, crawling all over you before sitting on your head. Piers couldn't help but smile at the sight and Marnie took it as her brother being smitten.

As you all sat down to eat, you sat next to Hop and left a space for Marnie to sit next to you. Seeing the opening, Piers took the spot, knowing his sister would expect it from him. You didn't particularly mind. Piers was nice. Milo and Nessa began to serve, sharing their separate stories about how they rustled up this meal.

"It all looks delicious, Opal and Melony." Kabu praised. I can't wait to dig in.

"I had a little earlier while they were still cookin'." Piers started, "It was amazing-"

"I knew you went digging in the food." The old woman began to scold Piers, poking him with her parasol. He seemed caught off guard and he only grew more embarrassed to see you snickering at him.

"It's alright. Just ask next time. We're all stranded here together."

"Right, Sorry Opal."

"My Fish looks sad." Allister began. Him speaking up scared you, as you didn't realize that he was sitting between you and Hop. "... He's staring at me."

"Don't eat the sad parts," Raihan mumbled, talking with his mouth practically stuffed.

"What classifies as 'the sad parts'?" You and Hop went back to snickering, hearing Bede try to ask that question seriously. Allister quickly clarified.

"The head. The head is the sad part."

"Don't even look at the sad part."

"Raihan, Shut up," Bede started, "Quit calling it that."

"Huh," Leon hummed, stroking his chin, "The head DOES look sad."

"See? I told you... It's still staring at me."

"Don't Eat The Sad Part!"

"The fish isn't sad, It's a fish." Bede explained, losing his temper. The Impadimp on your head hopped on the table, taking one of the fish off your plate like you weren't eating it. It gobbled it down quickly, making Allister chuckle. The scary child cut the head off his fish, feeding it to the Impadimp which happily ate it.

"...It eats the sad parts."

"Don't feed the Impadimp the sad parts." Melony scolded, "If you don't want to eat it, why make him eat it?"

"CAN WE QUIT CALLING IT 'THE SAD PART''!" Bede's annoyance made you crack up again, Marnie and Piers joining in this time. Piers laughed a little too hard accidentally leaning against you. When he noticed he sat upright as stiff as a board. A look to his right confirmed that Marnie saw that and a blush stained his cheeks.

* * *

You counted the separate sounds of snoring to try and gauge who was asleep. It was difficult as you were pretty sure Allister was incapable of going to sleep. Once you counted 6 , you slithered out of bed, trying to ignore the pain in your torso that came with your awkward contortions. You crouched against the floor, closing your eyes and listening to the sounds that surround you. You were along the floor and the cots felt like they towered above you as you made your way out of the pokecenter. Reaching the broken tile of the lobby meant you were safe to stand and you rose to full height to walk out of the door. Piers was just outside, leaning against the wall of the building with a smirk.

"You ready? No one saw you, right?"

"Nope." With your confident answer, Piers kicked off the wall and grabbed your hand, out of the corner of his eye he saw movement in the shadows of the pokemon center. His breath hitched and he spoke to you in a harsh whisper.

"Y/n...I am so sorry about this."

"Wha-" Piers cut you off, slamming his lips into yours and dipping you in his arms like a princess. You clung to him to keep from falling and you felt your entire body shudder. You were so taken aback by the kiss that you didn't return it but it didn't seem like he was putting 100% effort into it either. The shadow disappeared in the center lobby and Piers broke the kiss with a heavy sigh. With a quick promise to explain things later, He grabbed your hand, leading you off into the dark.


	5. 2 Eyes Watching

"Again, sorry about that," The rocker mumbled. He locked the door behind him. Something about the night made him tense as you both returned to the apartment you found the journal in. You sat on the bed, getting cozy and waiting for Piers to sit beside you. "Allister overheard that we were going to sneak out, so I had to tell Marnie we were dating."

"Well, thank you for running it by me first."

"I panicked," He admitted, throwing himself onto the bed. His eyes seemed heavy as he looked at you and it was hard to be mad. "I know you probably don't want anyone to know we're 'dating' but it would assure that no one would follow and learn about all this. No one would tail us if they thought the only thing they'd see would be us swapping spit." Your chuckle reassured him but he still wanted to hear that this was okay. You didn't know what to say though, just letting the silence marinate and your thoughts run wild. Piers coughed nervously, reaching for his belt and tossing his Toxitricity in the world. The purple reptile sparked a candle and Piers recalled him before setting it on the bedside table. "Can you see?"

"Yeah," You snuggled into his shoulder, making him take in a harsh breath. He tried his best to ignore the contact, his one free hand messing with his choker. "So, Second page?"

"Second page," He confirmed, sounding a bit out of breath. He turned to the page, the writing still very neat compared to later pages you caught a glance of. " Here we go: 'I hear whispers in the dark. When I crashed here I thought that the place was simply overrun by ghost pokemon... while there are ghost pokemon here that's not it. Something else is here. Something evil. Something Dark. I believe it's a pokemon but it has transcended the power of whatever it's normal abilities are. It can't be stopped. I just need to leave'. Well, If that ain't a red flag and a half."

"We need to get out of here, absolutely but I think I may be coming back." Your plans caught the rocker off guard and he shot you a confused look. "I want to know what's happening here and what happened to these people and this guy."

"If you're going to come back here make sure you bring something that can fly. I don't want you getting stuck here." Piers turned the page, continuing to read. The writing was slightly more volatile. " 'Escape is impossible- Well that fucks with my plan." Piers interrupting himself made you want to laugh but you got hung up on what he said. He continued, " 'Escape is impossible. I caught a Jellicent today and rode it as far as I could in one direction out to see. On the horizon, I saw an island yet somehow it was this one. Why am I here? What does it want?' "

"So, if we leave we end up back here?"

"I'm not entirely convinced this guy wasn't nuts. No harm in trying. Maybe the direction isn't important. I'll try just traveling in one direction tomorrow and seeing where that puts me at. This changes everything."

"What do we do if that's true?"

"Then we'd have to come clean about the journal. If we are being kept from leaving then we all need to put our heads together to figure out what's stopping us."

"Go to the next page or the last one. Maybe he figured it out."

"Right, Right," The Rocker licked his finger, skipping a couple of pages ahead. " 'My Jellicent attacked me today. The pokemon I got here appear to be growing hostile by the day. At first, I thought they'd save me but now I've never felt more unsafe.'"

"There should be a comma there-"

"Okay, The guy is probably dead and you're rippin' on his grammar?" Piers's chuckle was contagious and you ended up not answering him. He didn't mind. The sound of your laugh made his face burn and he started messing with his choker again. "Anyway... Let's take a break for a second. This is heavy. Let's just... talk. To be honest this whole concept is really upsetting and I don't want to keep reading right now."

"I can understand that. It is a lot to take in... So... You like music?"

"That's your best question?"

"Well, then why don't you hit me with one, lover boy?" He rolled his eyes with a snicker, laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. He didn't need long to think of a question.

"What was your first pokemon?" Piers posed, looking up at you. You thought back, lying down next to him and joining him in staring at the ceiling. "Mine was an Impadimp. Told you I raised a lot of 'em. It was rummaging through my pantry, stealing food and I locked it in there for about a week."

"You just locked it in the pantry?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what to do, I was about 6. I fed him and gave him water and all that." He shrugged, " After a week I let him out and he kind of just stared at me. Then he wouldn't stop following me around. That Impadimp is my sister's Grimsnarl."

"Really?"

"Yep," Piers smiled, fiddling with his choker as he reminisced, "I gave him to her when she started her gym challenge. She didn't use him for the longest. I don't blame her. She wanted so bad to prove she could do this on her own. I just... have such a hard time letting go." The rocker closed his eyes, taking in some air. "Enough about that... What about you?"

"My first pokemon was a Trubbish."

"Shit luck or did your parents hate you or something?" You nudged him, ignoring his laughing and continuing with your story.

"I was maybe 5 and I liked spreading garbage around the front yard at night before bed to attract Zigzagoons." You admitted, intentionally not catching Piers's eyes. He was staring you down, already loving where this was going. "Every night I would watch them wander my front yard, yelping and faffing about in the trash. More and more would show up each night. Then one night I did it and I thought I saw some of the trash moving. I saw this funny buck-toothed smile and I went out to see what it was and then this Trubbish walked up to me and sniffed me. Since I spread out the trash I smelled like it. So, it liked me."

"What happened to him? You don't have a Garbador on your team."

"My mom took him away when he evolved. When he was little she'd make him wear an air freshener on his head but he evolved and got too big for that... So My Father has him. He's currently traveling the world in search of legendary pokemon."

"Well, you get to see him still, that's good... So she'd just stuff a plugin in his face or-?"

"You're stupid-"

"It's a serious question!"

* * *

It seemed like you closed your eyes for a second and when you opened them again the room was much lighter. You sat up, rigid bones popping as you moved around. The jostling of the bed woke the rocker who gave an annoyed grunt before he even opened his eyes. He didn't sit up and just looked up at you as you took in your surroundings.

"Mornin'." He grumbled. "I think... What time is it?"

"I Don't..." You started to answer but a realization hit you. You looked down at Piers and his sleepy expression went wide-eyed when it hit him too. He rocketed upright, one hand on the top of his head and other messing with the emblem on his choker.

"WE FELL ASLEEP!" You yelled together, looking at each other in pure horror. You both got up, pacing nervously around the room and trying to think of some believable excuse.

"Oh, this is not good not good not good, ugh." Piers buried his face in his hands, thinking out loud, "Oh damn and I told Marnie we were dating. What is she going to think?"

"Let's just...You leave first and I'll leave later. They won't know we were here together."

"Marnie will." Piers sounded so defeated, "She already knew. Ugh, Why am I so shit at things?"

"Piers focus." You flicked his nose, forcing him to pay attention to you. He rubbed his nose, completely flushed. "You go. I'll hang around here longer. Maybe investigate in the meantime."

"Keep the journal. I left it on the bed," He gestured hind him without looking back, still clearly nervous about having to face everyone. "Be safe. Don't stay too long."

Piers bolted out of the building, hoping he could make it into the pokemon center and that Marnie would still be asleep. As he was about to walk through the threshold he bumped into Kabu, Leon and Raihan right behind him. Great.

"Hey, Piers, We were wondering where you were." Leon smiled, "That just leaves Y/n missing." Obviously, Leon hadn't pieced it together or simply didn't want to think that away about you. That was good. Piers put on his best apathetic face and simply shrugged.

"She's missing? Since when?"

"Don't know," Raihan started, putting a hand on his hip. "When we woke up she was gone. We weren't worried at first but we don't know if she has her Impadimp with her or not."

"We're going to look for her," Kabu announced. "I hope she isn't hurt. Her midsection should still be sore."

"If it helps knock down yer search I spent the night in there," Piers pointed to the corner store he just left from, where you still were, "I didn't see her in there on the way out. I passed out on a bed in the flat above the store."

"That should help our search. Thank you." Kabu quickly jogged in another direction, Raihan, and Leon going in separate ones as well. Piers let out a relieved sigh and threw himself against the side of the building.

"Shit, that was close."

"What was close-?"

"Fuck- Marnie, you scared me." Piers jumped when his sister rounded the corner, trying to stop the pounding of his heart, "Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Where is Y/n? You were with her last."

"I honestly don't know, Marnie."

"When you lie your ears turn red."

"They turn red when you scare me, too."

"This ear is red also." Allister's sudden voice made Piers jump again. When did he get here? The child pointed up at Piers's right ear and the rocker just shook his head. "Does that mean he's lying?"

"Where the fuck did you come from-?"

"Piers, Language," Melony scolded as she exited the Pokecenter. "Allister is young and impressionable."

"The joys of youth..." Allister's tone made Piers back up a little before giving Melony a half-hearted sorry.

"Have you seen Y/n?"

"No, I 'aven't. Sorry, Melony."

"I wonder where that girl went." Melony tapped her chin nervously, panning around the entire landscape. Marnie just smirked, continuing to stare down her brother. She didn't believe him for a second.

"... Yeah... I wonder where she is."


	6. Counting Down the Minutes

The Impadimp whined as it waddled cutely around in the darkness. You could see the reflection of its eyes in the dark every so often, which helped you keep an eye on him. The pokemon seemed to be having fun. At least one of you was. You were just tapping your foot impatiently, waiting for an opportunity to leave the building hopefully without arousing suspicion. Stupid Piers. What was he thinking? It's not like dating Piers was a bad idea though. He IS a really great guy. Very sweet. Very genuine. You chuckled nervously at your own thoughts and the Impadimp rounded a corner and out of your sight. When you realized the little pit pats of his feet sounded farther than normal you gasped.

"Buddy? Where'd you go? You know I can't see in here!" The rustling of a can against the floor caught your attention and you began to take cautious steps towards the noise. "Impadimp? Buddy? You still here?" You began to feel around the air to prevent running into store shelves or displays. You touched a cool surface with more pressure than it could take, immediately feeling it leave your radius of touch. You flinched as the metal clangs hit the floor and the darkroom was filled with the sound of a shelf falling apart.

The ground beneath you bumped and cracked as the tile right under your feet gave way. You could hear the Impadimp crying above you as you fell on your side ... somewhere. It was still pitch black. You stayed in the hole, unmoving until your Impadimp's little noises got closer. He looked down in the hole at you before jumping in and landing on your side, hurting your bruised stomach.

"Why does this keep happening to me..." You groaned, pushing yourself off the ground. The Impadimp jumped off of you and to your side, attempting to pick you up off the ground. He wasn't really helping but it brought a smile to your face. "Thank you, buddy." You picked yourself up and tried to get a grasp of your surroundings. Was this a sinkhole? you put your hand to the side, feeling a smooth wall. Too smooth. Was this a tunnel? You put both your hands out, steadying yourself between 2 walls. You began to walk forward into the dark. The only sounds to help you along were the echos of your footsteps and the pitter-pat of the Impadimp behind you.

* * *

The Rocker stared out the window for what felt like hours, staring at the building he left you in. You hadn't left yet. A dark feeling made his stomach turn and he wanted to go back. After attempting to swim away from the island with Leon's Seismitoad he had been in such a disparaging mood. He just came right back. He had to reveal that to everyone. To his sister. To you. Why hadn't you left yet?

"Everything alright, Piers?" He didn't turn around when he heard Nessa's voice. He just continued to stare out of the window. People had been in and out of the pokemon center all day and he stopped being surprised. "Piers?"

" 'm fine."

"You don't look fine. What did you find when you went out earlier?"

"I'll talk about it later... Have you seen Y/n today?" Finally, he turned around. He hoped so bad that you just snuck out of the building while he was gone or when he wasn't looking. The fisher shook her head and Piers swallowed hard, turning back to the building. "I'm getting worried."

"Yeah, Hop seemed pretty worried, too." Nessa sighed, "He and Leon are out looking for her."  
"I'm going, too." Piers stood, grabbing 2 of the pokeballs on his belt and releasing his pokemon. He headed out the door without another word to Nessa, an Obstagoon and a Toxitricity following behind him. Piers stormed out of the building headed directly across the street. If anything happened in there he would need to see meaning he'd need to take the boards off the windows. Nessa followed him out, watching from the street and wondering what he was doing.

"Piers-"

"Obstagoon, Sniff her out. Toxitricity, Break those boards." They wasted no time, Obstagoon scampering off into the building and beginning to hunt you down. The reptile pulled out the boards so easily it almost seemed like child's play. The display got the attention of a few of the gym leaders, rushing to the streets to check out the noise. With the storefront now flooded with natural light, Piers walking in, surprised to see his Obstagoon walking circles around a large hole in the floor. "...What the hell..."

"Piers, What's going on?" Leon was standing in the doorway when Piers looked over, clearly very confused by the sudden assault on this building. Piers looked back down to the hole. She never left, she must have gone this way. He jumped down the hole and immediately recognized this was a tunnel. "Piers!"

"Stay with everyone else! I'll be back and I'll explain everything!" Piers kept it simple. He looked one way, the tunnel seemed to end under a broom closet. That must be the original entrance. The other end looked like it went on forever. Toxitricity and Obstagoon joined Piers in the hole, the man immediately recalling the reptile. "Obstagoon, do you smell her?" The excitable creature nodded furiously, continuing to sniff and going down the dark hall. Piers let out an annoyed sigh as he followed his friend. "Y/n you're going to get me killed. You're lucky you're cute."

* * *

The tunnel seemed to go on forever. The rocker found himself short of breath the more it went on. How far did this thing go? The man just kept walking, praying for your safety the farther he went. Eventually, the atmosphere changed. Suddenly he didn't feel so enclosed but it was so dark he didn't understand. He put his hands out, surprised there were no walls. He almost fell, stumbling about in the dark as he tried to figure out his surroundings. He could hear his Obstagoon. That's it.

"Shit." He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out which way he was going before he stumbled. Obstagoon, being able to see, ran up to his trainer and grabbed a ball off his belt before handing it to him. Piers asked nothing, releasing what he soon learned was his Toxitricity. Obstagoon took the reptile and lead him somewhere. Piers just kind of stood in the dark and hoped his pokemon were smarter than he was.

Sudden light blinded the rocker and he recoiled as the large fluorescent light turned on. One by one down the lights of the dark tunnels lit up, leading him further down a dark path. Once he adjusted to the brightness Piers gasped, his eyes darting all over the place to try and register what he was seeing. He was in a rhombus-shaped room. It seemed to be the center point where 6 tunnels connected. With it being dark, he didn't even know which tunnel he came from.

Obstagoon continued to sniff, headed to a lone tunnel on the other side of the room. You must have gone that way. Piers looked to his Toxitricity. The creature looked proud of himself, a finger in a long-abandoned generator. Obstagoon must have seen it in the dark. There was trash lying everywhere, abandoned and rotting backpacks and an odd dark stain on the floor that the rocker hoped was oil or something.

"Lead the way, Obstagoon. Toxitricity, would you mind hangin' back, mate?" It let out a spirited cry, making the man smirk, "I'll be back for you. Keep on, friend."

The tunnels were lit now but still tedious and tight. Why did these even exist? Piers popped his neck, cursing that shoddy cot you both fell asleep on last night... side by side... together. He couldn't help but giggle. What were you doing to him? Years of performing made him very familiar with fans. Of course, plenty of people wanted to tame him. However, you were a little different. He wanted you to tame him. It was certainly the other way around. He laughed at the thought of being tied down in a relationship... then he glowed at the thought of being tied down literally. See, this is why he can't be alone with his thoughts. How long is this tunnel? Piers looked over his shoulder only to whip his head forward again at the sound of a sonorous guttural growl from deeper down the hall. His Obstagoon even stopped, looking back at him full of worry.

"...You still smell her?" The Obstagoon nodded, "Still this way?" Another nod. "We keep going-" A Scream. A Shrill scream echoed up the hallway. Piers ran past his Obstagoon, headed in the direction of it. It could only be yours. He rushed through, seeing that the lights ended a little bit ahead and it was darker but not pitch black. There was some kind of purple light. He didn't think about it. Once he hit the end the tunnel opened up to a large cave system. He didn't have time to admire the tall stalagmites. He yelled for you, your name echoing off the walls of the cave. That attracted a group of chittering Sableyes, crawling up the stalagmites and looking down at the dark trainer. Piers smirked pointing Obstagoon to his new task.

"Shadow Claw!" Piers ordered. As he sprung into action he heard his name. It was distant but he definitely heard it. He ran for it, Obstagoon fighting off the 4 Sableyes. "Y/n! Where are you? Say Something!"

"Piers!" He followed your voice through the maze of Stalagmites, both of you trying to navigate to one another. "Where are you-" Just as you asked you turned a corner, bumping straight into Piers and knocking your heads together. You both recoiled and he looked up to see you cradling the Impadimp in your arms.

"Y/n-"

"He fainted! I need to get him some help quick!"

"I have questions but I guess I'll ask them later." Piers breathed, finally feeling the weight lift off his shoulders. At least he found you. You had a few scrapes but seemed just fine. You must have just wandered down here and got lost in the dark. Obstagoon knocked the Sableyes down, the pack chittering away and retreating deep into the cavern. The man couldn't help but smile.

"What are you doing here? How'd you find me?"

"The giant hole in the store kind of gave it away... Let's get out of here, You had me worried. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you." He turned on his heel, gesturing for you to follow him and Obstagoon out of the cave. You cradled your Impadimp, humming to him lowly and thinking about what Piers just said.


	7. Matter of Time

"I didn't remember walking for this long." You sighed. Piers just smiled, mostly focused on how close you both had to walk when you were side by side down here. You didn't notice, worried about your pokemon. In your hand, you kept rubbing your thumb against your Impadimp's pokeball. "So this place is inescapable."

"For now," He looked to his feet, feeling defeated. "We'll have to figure out more to escape... If this pokemon that is keeping up here, if it is a pokemon, is as powerful as he claims, I don't think our pokemon are strong enough to take it on. We have to train more... so we'll be here for a while doing that."

"Since we are going to come clean about the journal and your findings... Is this the end of our 'relationship'?" He chuckled, purposefully not looking at you. He knew what he wanted to answer but not how to say it. His walking slowed and when you slowed to accommodate him he just stopped walking. "I mean... we technically don't have to lie about it anymore."

"Well, If that's how you feel... We could always not lie about it." He shrugged, thinking his thoughts got lost in translation. "What I'm tryin' to say is... It makes Marnie really happy... She really likes you... and I... do too..."

"Piers!" Leon's voice rang out, making you looked back down the tunnel. Leon was hunching his way through the narrow passage. "Y/n! You're Safe!" You waved to Leon, happy to see him but you quickly changed when you looked back at Piers. He was fiddling with his choker and was just staring off at the ground. You grabbed his free hand and when the rocker turned to look at you, you pecked his lips. His eyes broadened. The soft contact made him freeze and your smile made him melt.

"We'll talk about this later tonight... In the usual spot. For now, we have to tell everyone what's going on."

* * *

Crawling out of the hole and collecting the gym leaders was the easy part. Standing before them with the information and hoping things go well was hard. Piers couldn't keep his finger out of his choker. He seemed unable to calm himself but the way he spoke was entirely different. He spoke so confidently despite everything. You could see horror and fear throughout the crowd. Piers took out the journal, reading a few passages that even he was not aware of. He definitely faltered reading some new information and this news seemed to sour everyone's mood. Allister spoke first, startling Hop who had no idea he was behind him.

"How tragic... What will become of us?"

"This is quite the predicament." Bede folded his arms. "However I won't back down. We are the strongest trainers in Galar... If anyone can solve this mystery and escape it's us!"

"Bede is right!" Leon cheered, "Let's train our pokemon, explore those caverns and find what's causing this! Easy, right? There's no rush!"

"Well, I mean, we don't have a time limit but it would be nice to get out of here faster." Raihan added, "but with all of us it should take no time at all!"

"I came up empty fishing today," Nessa announced, "Luckily we still have enough from the catch from yesterday. So, Let's make it count."

"I'll get started on cooking," Melony sang, "Let's not lose heart, everyone. We can do this. If anyone can do it, we can."

"Yeah!" Hop sprang to his feet. You were surprised to see spirit rising from everyone one by one but that's better than them being upset. "Come on, Y/n! Let's go train!"

"Right behind you, I have a few things I want to do first."

"Alright, I'll be a few buildings down! It's crawling with dark types!" With that, Hop ran off. As the crowd dispersed, trying to mentally make light of the situation, you and Piers just looked at one another. Marnie was left in the dust and approached you both once the presentation was over.

"I'm glad everyone seems to be takin' this well... It is rough news. Everyone is so brave."

"Everything will be okay, Marnie," You said, catching Piers off guard. He didn't expect you to comfort Marnie before he could. "We're all in this together."

"Thank you, Y/n... You're really great." She mumbled that last bit and it made you a touch more nervous. She then turned to her brother. "I managed to explore deeper into town today. I think 6 buildings down is the furthest any of us have ever explored... I found something you might like. I left it under your cot, Piers." She said nothing more, excusing herself. Her brother cocked his head to the side before heading to the back room of the center without a word.

He went up to the room everyone was staying in and spotted it before he even approached his bed. He smiled like an excited child, getting on his knees immediately to dig it out from under the bed. As you joined him in the room he had it in his hands, strumming a little melody on a dusty black guitar. It was in some serious need of tuning but you had a feeling no one could give it the love it needed more than Piers.

* * *

"We're not going to get anywhere if we just keep hanging out in this flat." Piers joked, tuning his new guitar. He was sitting in the window and you were on the bed about a foot from him. He would look down at you every so often with a soft smile. "So... What did you want to talk about?" He knew. He just didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

"Piers, Do you want us to 'stay together'"

"There you go again with those air quotes." He snorted, "We kissed. We shared a bed-"

"Missing a lot of important context there-"

"Still, I've really enjoyed spending time with you... and we aren't exactly strangers. We were friends before all this. I can understand if the answer is no but... I'd like to give us a go."

"....Did you rhyme that on purpose?" Instead of answering he strummed the guitar, letting out an almost orgasmic sigh at its perfect sound. He placed his fingers, beginning to make a little slow song. He hummed alongside the haunting melody, mouthing words but saying nothing. You pursed your lips, standing up and leaning against the wall beside the window. He kept on playing and now every so often he'd say a few words. You decided to just talk about this later and listen.

"And...no no..." He started his song over, beginning to think out loud. "Crashing waves.... no... Sinking feelings- Yeah, that's better... We're what ...no... yeah-"

"Piers."

"What?" He answered fairly quickly, a little embarrassed that he got lost in his music. His dopey face was priceless and he grew red when you began to laugh at him. "...Oh Right, we were talking-"

"I didn't know you could play guitar." He stopped strumming, looking up at you with a mix of disbelief and amusement.

"Seriously? You... You know I'm a musician, right? It's kind of my thing."

"I know but... I've only ever seen you sing-"

"Did you just assume I couldn't play ANY instruments?"

"...Well-"

"You know what, I change my mind." Piers stood, clearly joking as he placed the guitar against the wall, "I don't want to date you anymore-"

"Okay! I'm sorry," You grabbed his hand, pulling him into a hug and just laying your face on his chest. He puffed up his cheeks, finding it very hard to keep pretending he was mad at you. All the while, you were giggling between every word. "I'm sorry. I just didn't see you play anything-"

"I'm so insulted," He said, clearly not very insulted as he returned your hug. "I can't believe it. I thought you were special-"

"I've never seen you play anything before!"

"Oh, It hurts!"

"Piers!"

"Whatever. Don't talk to me." He gave you a weak push that clearly didn't work and gave up, letting you continue to cling to him. Surely you could heart his heart from where you were. It was beating about a mile a minute. You were looking up at him with that sweet little look he loved so much. Keeping it together was getting harder.

"I'm sorry." You pouted. He tried to remain stoneface but he just grinned. You were killing him with your cute giggles. Piers put an end to it, leaning in and silencing you with his lips. When he pulled away you gave him one more quick peck and the rocker clicked his tongue. "... You forgive me?"

"... You get a pass this time... Bein' my girlfriend and all that."


	8. Caught Up in It

It was slowly growing darker. No stars or moons lit the way. It was like night here was just pure dark. Toxitricity helped provide lighting to some buildings that were still capable of being lit but in the apartment above the store you only had one candle and it accidentally burnt all the way down the night you fell asleep. With no light, you and Piers had to leave, headed back across the street to the Pokemon center. The night air seemed colder than usual but you said nothing, continuing to walk with the rocker and hope dinner was ready by now. Speaking of Piers, he seemed different. He had his head held high, he seemed happier and he hadn't touched his choker in hours. It was refreshing.

"So, this town isn't that big... It looks like there's a city hall in the center... It's pretty elevated." As you reached the center of the street you grabbed your arm, stopping you and pointing at the looming distant building. "It seems pretty important. I was thinking-" Piers suddenly shivered. You thought he was simply cold at first but then he looked over his shoulder. The involuntary shudder put him on edge and he found himself looking around at the shadowy alleys.

"Everything alright?"

"Don't worry about it," He denied, shaking his head. He grabbed your hand, leading you inside. "Anyway, I was thinking about going up there but I need to ready my pokemon for that."

"Y/n!" The moment you walked in Nessa called to you, taking your pokeball out of the healer and 2 duskballs. "Your Impadimp is healed! Piers, your Toxitricity and Obstagoon are healed as well."

"Thank Nessa," Piers smiled, " Dinner ready?"

"Yeah, Everyone is already at the table but Melony hasn't served it yet. She was waiting for you both." Nessa started friendly enough but got a teasing tone as she mentioned both of you. You and Piers were confused but ignored it, continuing on to the table.

Entering the room, everyone else was sitting down and they all looked over at you and Piers. Kabu, Opal, and Melony had proud smiles as they looked at you. When Melony served Opal they both looked at one another before looking at you two again and chattering about something. Leon and Milo were very smiley, not even looking at you directly. Hop was giggly and tried to keep his mouth shut.

Marnie looked embarrassed, which concerned Piers immediately and was the only thing he noticed. Bede and Allister were the only ones that seemed normal. You two sat down, Piers next to Marnie and You next to Hop which also put you by each other. Leon's reaction to you sitting beside each other immediately told you what everyone was so worked up about. Somehow, they knew.

"Everything alright, Marnie?" Piers asked in a hushed tone. His sister shook her head and said nothing. He didn't want to accept that for an answer. You turned to Hop and he almost instantly turned away from you.

"Everything cool, Hop?" You shrugged, "I haven't seen you since we talked about the journal. Anywhere cool you thought about exploring?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," He stumbled on his words, scratching the back of his head. "I need to train my Pawniard... So I wasn't going to explore until I was sure he was ready. Leon is going to help me train him tomorrow."

"If we start bright and early we may get him to evolve tomorrow!" Leon added, "but enough about that. Y/n, Tell us about your day."

"We know how her day went," Bede began, a little annoyed for some reason. "She went walking down a dark corridor with no vision and ended up in a cave and had to be rescued-"

"I wouldn't say I had to be rescued," You spat, getting Bede's attention. Piers focused back on everyone hearing the attitude in your voice. "I would have found my way back. "

"I believed that you would find your way back from wherever you went, to be honest," Leon stated, "I only went down the hole because I heard you scream and I feared the worst." That caught you off guard. Before you could add anything, Piers butt in.

"Yeah, that made me pick up the pace, too."

"... I never screamed." The entire table just went quiet. Piers didn't really know what to say. His breathing picked up, though.

"L-let's focus on something more pleasant." Melony changed the subject, rubbing her cheek nervously. "So... Piers... Y/n..."

"... Yes?" You and Piers spoke in unison, making the older people at the table gush. It was at that point Piers figured out what was going on. He looked back to Marnie and this time she spoke in a soft whisper only to him.

"Leon saw you kiss... I um... accidentally confirmed you two-."

"It's okay, Marnie. It's alright." That explained it. At least it was true now. Piers could relax now. He was ready for anything anyone could ask.

"So... Is it true?" Melony pressed. You pursed your lips and Piers let out a modest chuckle. "Well?"

"I don't think it matters." Bede began, "We're stuck on an island that keeps us stranded here and it seems silly to worry about anyone's romantic involvements."

"Sometimes it's just nice to focus on the fun things in life during dark times," Allister advised, scaring Bede. Allister wasn't sitting beside him earlier, was he?

"I don't think it's that big of a deal..." Piers started confidently but a black shadow outside the window made him slow to a stop. It sped out of view quickly, leaving Piers to stare at his own reflection in the glass. You nudged him and he snapped out of it with a little blush that Opal and Melony fawned over. "What was I saying?"

"So how long have you two been together behind our backs?" Nessa gushed, looking directly at Piers. He peeked over at Marnie and then looked back at Nessa. He didn't want to lie anymore but didn't want to tell the truth and reveal he was lying previously. The moment he grabbed his choker you decided to cut in and make something up.

"Well," You started, twiddling your fingers. "I... You know it's so impossible to tell.. when we're together time just stands still-"

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww." Nessa and Melony held their hearts, gushing over that for a moment. Piers mouthed a silent 'thank you' before finally starting to eat.

"I think they're cute," Allister commented. "...Can I have another fish-"

"Finish your greens little man!" Milo pointed to the untouched vegetable and Allister made a sort of 'bleh' noise and pushed his plate away. "We can't be picky. Food is limited."

"I'm going to explore those caverns tomorrow," Bede began. "Would anyone like to come with me?"

"You're going to need something stronger than what you've got." Opal warned, "We don't know what's down there."

"I'll go with you," You answered. Bede seemed pleased but Piers couldn't hide his worries. "I want to know what made that scream..."

"Nothing good." Opal began, "You two be careful down there if you're only going with your new pokemon-"

"Y/n is taking my Obstagoon." Piers added quickly, not missing a beat and eating his food. The other gym leaders thought that was adorable but Marnie was in awe. Piers raised that Obstagoon from the moment it was born. He loved it like no other and he was going to give it to you with no second thought. There was a glow in Marnie's eyes. She already liked you and Piers as a couple but that gesture was something else.

* * *

The Galar region had such calm summers. The sun was beaming over the countryside as the Rocker approached a quaint nursery. He smiled, seeing you rocking back and forth cutely on your heels and waiting outside for him. You looked over to him with a cheery smile and the rocker felt his heart beating out of his chest.

"Hey, Y/n. Ready?"

"Excited. Thanks for letting me come with you Piers."

"Anytime, Champ." He remembers practically begging the nursery to let you come. He thought it would be a nice bonding experience. It felt like he was always trying to be close to you. Did you even want to be close to him? You entered the nursery side by side, the clerk happy to see you both and leading you to a small grassy room that simulated a field. 6 eggs sat in the grass. The eggs would wiggles and crack open further every couple of seconds. The look on your face was still somehow more adorable .

"You both are just in time! All the Toxels are hatching." She squealed. Piers knelt down immediately, cradling a cracking egg in his arms as a little purple foot popped out. He turned back around to the clerk but she wasn't there anymore. His smile dropped. This wasn't how it happened. You let out the most adorable gasp and Piers snapped his attention back to you. He didn't hesitate to hand you the egg. The Toxel whined and kicked at it's little prison. The baby freed itself with an annoyed groan. It opened it's large eyes, smacking its lips as it looked up at the very first thing it's ever seen: You. You loved it the moment you locked eyes with it.

"They all need homes, y'know. You're clear to take one if you want. I'm taking 2 m'self."

"I can really have one?" He nodded. You looked down at the baby in your arms, the Toxel lifting its arms for the first time and putting its paws on your face. Its sticky little paws were so warm and you were speechless. He thought about kissing you that day. It would have happened right here. The rocker leaned over and as you looked up at him your eyes were empty. He threw himself away from you and all the Toxels burst from the eggs, slowly turning to look at him with blank expressions. He was speechless as they crawled towards him. The babies cooed in an oddly sinister tone and Piers had to react.

He jumped to his feet and turned the doorknob only for it to crumble in his hands like dirt. The metal fell through his finds and onto the ground before the door itself started to disappear and become the walls. Behind him a Toxel jumped, latching onto his head and making him hit his head on the wall. The force was unbelievable. It was as if the Toxel weighed more than a full-grown Toxitricity. Piers tried to rip it off and the little simulated field started to darken. The grass died and from it, a dark shadow rose and looked down at piers. You weren't there anymore. Where did you go? Where was he? What does it want?

Piers bolted upright in bed, a light squeak of the cot and his heavy breathing the only sounds besides snoring. He reached for his choker, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he snaked his fingers around the emblem. A quick peek at your cot and you were sleeping soundly. A peek to his left, same with Marnie. For some reason that didn't calm him. The darkness of the pokemon center was suffocating.

"Piers?" Raihan's voice was soft but easy to identify in the dark. Piers didn't look for him though, putting his arms above his head in an attempt to breathe better. "Piers are you okay?"

"I need some air." He hopped out of bed without another word. Raihan followed, obviously concerned but he wasn't the only one to follow as a familiar shadow was already in pursuit.


	9. Listen to it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of my unfixed chapters ended up back up instead of the fixed one. I don't know how I keep making these mistakes honestly. Anyway, Whatever. I'll go back and fix things as I discover them.

You stretched your back out, the creak of your bed waking Hop in his bed next to you. He woke up full of energy, not very surprising for him. Outside you could hear the gentle pounding of water hitting the roof, letting you know the weather in an instant. The room didn't have too many people in it. Leon was in the corner, petting his Charizard. Opal was staring out of the window. Bede was waiting at the table, the most patient he was able to be, probably waiting for you to wake up.

"Where is everyone?"

"You wake up this late in the day and you want to know where everyone else is?" Bede started, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?"

"Yeah, you and Hop were out for a long time. I knew why Hop was sleeping so sound though," Leon said with a smile, "He sleeps SO snug when it's raining. Charizard ... isn't a fan of the rain though." His Charizard bumped it's head against him, indicated that it wanted more attention. As he tended to his pokemon you decided you've kept Bede waiting long enough. The moment you looked at him he seemed to understand that he would finally be able to do something constructive.

"Are you ready to go? I've been ready for hours."

"Sorry to keep you. Let's get going."

"Piers was already gone when I awoke," Bede started to head out already, urging you to follow him as he spoke. You kept in tow, giving Hop a quick wave goodbye. "I don't know if he gave you his Obstagoon last night or if he left it for you somewhere."

"I don't have it."

"Well, that's just great," The fairy trainer sighed, "No matter. Between the two of us, we should be okay."  
  
A raindrop hit your head the second you stepped foot out of the building. You shuddered at the sudden contact but it didn't slow you down. You began to walk forward towards the corner store, only for Bede to grab your arm. You faltered a bit and he didn't look like he had any intention of apologizing. "Where are you going?"

"The store... where the hole is-"

"No, Y/n," He pointed to the city's central building. The large structure Piers talked about last night. "After some research, I noted that all of these tunnels came from small businesses on this street. The corner store, the clothing store, the salon, the bank, and the cafe. They all go towards city hall."

"...That's kind of weird," You turned to examine the other buildings on the street, pointing at each one as you panned. "There's a Pokemon Center, A Pokemon Nursery, and a Pokemon accessory shop on this street as well... yet the tunnels only connect the buildings that catered only to humans..."

"I didn't even notice that, to be frank." Bede smirked, "Looks like we can have this little mystery solved in no time. I bet our answers are in that municipal building."

"That's pretty dangerous. I don't think we should go there just yet."

"We'll be careful. We just need to investigate a little more." Bede's proposition made sense. Your eyes darted between him and the building. The idea was tempting and terrifying. With determination, you eyed the distant dome. You could just avoid pokemon and investigate. That should be fine.

* * *

The rocker had his eyes over his hands, only able to hear the sound of a stone skipping on the ocean. The calm seas were eerie today. Fog had rolled over the water and it was pure grey as far as the eye could see. Raihan was still trying to help him relax, throwing stones and trying to coax the problem out of Piers.

"I know this is stressful... You're lucky though, You were at least stranded with your lady."

"Stop talking please." The rocker whined. It went unheard. Raihan just kept skipping stones and smiling. Piers reached for his choker but stopped and buried his face in his hands again. It wasn't what you could call 'bright' out but he couldn't handle it. His eyes were sensitive since night turned to day.

"You know what you should do? Don't come back to the Pokecenter tonight," The dragon trainer started. Piers peered through his fingers, clearly annoyed but he couldn't place why. "You and your lady should find a nice private spot... blow off some steam?" Raihan waggled his brow and Piers felt a vein pulse in his head.

"This isn't... Look, I don't know what's wrong but It's not that I need to get laid-"

"That's absolutely what you need!" The insistence made the rocker furious. He rolled his eyes and turned away from Raihan. A light rumble in the distance made the rocker click his tongue. A storm was coming. He didn't particularly mind the rain, willingly sitting in it and letting his hair stick to his face. He needed to cool down anyway. "If you laid down with her, You'd get a good night's rest for sure."

"Oh yeah, got the perfect place to set the mood," Piers began slowly, sounding exhausted, "Nothin' makes the clothes fly off like a haunted island and possible death-"

"You're too negative, Piers, mate!"

"I'm just going to go. Thanks for tryin' but I don't think that's what's wrong with me. I have to hand my Obstagoon over before Y/n gets up."

* * *

The double doors to the municipal building let out a dreadful squeak that echoed through the halls. The loud hinges made you and Bede flinch but there didn't seem to be anyone or anything responding to all the noise. The door finally fell closed and you and Bede basked in the dark and silence. There was light coming in through the hole in the top of the lobby. The desk was falling apart and papers were strewn all about, next to a broken computer.

"This place is huge." You breathed, taking in the atmosphere. There had to be some answers here but where?

"There's 3 big hallways it seems... Splitting up is a bad idea. Which way do you think we should go?"" The hallway behind the desk clearly leads to the important offices. Maybe that will help?" Bede just nodded, motioning for you to follow as he walked across the cracked tiles. You looked down the left hall as you passed it's opening and Bede looked down the right. The fidgeting darkness was unnerving but you weren't sure what you were seeing or if you were even seeing anything at all.

Continuing to the hallway you picked, you noticed rooms dotted the sides of the hall, various plaques on the doors or broken on the floor. At the very end against the back wall was another double door, likely the mayor's office or someone of importance. Bede beamed at the sight. He hurried up his walking, not particularly caring that you were lagging behind. The farther he got from you the darker the room felt. It was suffocating. You picked up your pace to catch up to Bede. Every little noise you made felt like an explosion. Eventually, something was going to investigate. As you reached the doors, Bede stopped.

"Chances are that this door is loud, if not louder, than the front door. If anything is in here it will be more put off by the sound of a door further in the building than at the front... and escaped from this building will be difficult. We're very far from the main exit."

"We can go in and lock the door."

"Alright." With the plan set Bede pulled the door open, as predicted making a harsh creak. He grabbed his pokeball from his pocket, releasing his Litwick. The little candle waddled cutley in the room without a care in the world, lighting the way. You hurried inside and he closed the door. He put his hand on the lock and gasped, noticing 6 to 10 additional locks. "What the hell..." A chain lock here, a deadbolt there and all sorts of padlocks. He began to lock all of the ones that didn't require a key or something else he didn't have. As he worked, you examined the office. The carpet had various dark stains that you'd rather not look at.

Bookshelves that previously lined the walls were broken into pieces and overturned. The desk was a large half circle and you made your way over and around to look at everything on it. Papers, sticky notes, books, and a busted laptop. Several desk drawers were open and a quick tug on the closed ones proved they were locked tight. Bede finally joined you, very nervous at the sight of the stained carpet. "Books everywhere..."

"Can your pokemon pry open these desk drawers?"

"No, Litwick is fairly weak. Poor thing." Bede put a hand on his cheek. The little Litwick was just walking around the room in circles, waggling it's arms about. "What about Impadimp?"

"He's not very strong... He's just a baby."

"We'll have to come back for these then. I'd burn the desk but there's no guarantee that we wouldn't burn whatever is inside. There's plenty of things on the desk, let's just focus on this," Bede picked up a moldy sticky note, reading it without a second thought. "This is just about dry cleaning."

"That's disappointing." You two didn't notice that Litwick stopped moving, staring at the office door. "One of these has to be important... I can't read this guy's chicken scratch-"

"Give me that," Bede plucked the note from you. He scanned it for a moment before sighing, "This just talks about increasing taxes on local businesses... that's interesting."

"What?"

"The ones listed are the businesses that cater to Pokemon... Centers and nurseries and such..." Bede picked up another sticky note. It seemed like the footnotes for a speech. "This one is clearly some kind of address... It's talking about the rise in crime."

"Crime?"

"It doesn't go into specifics. It looks like there was a spike of unsolved crime and civil unrest."

"Why start increasing taxes on businesses in the middle of that mess? Maybe to get more officers patrolling... but... it doesn't seem fair to only tax the Pokemon things."

"Ex-Chairman Rose used to say that often political leaders make decisions for the greater good but that support their bias. It could simply be that the mayor didn't really like the pokemon businesses or that something happened and he taxed them more out of spite."

"What could have happened?"

"Like Opal said, Nothing good."


	10. Cracked Shores

Litwick began to panic. It came out of nowhere and you and Bede stared at the little pokemon curiously. Not even a second later the door to the office was slammed, the wood cracking on impact. Another hit like that would break the door. Bede sucked in a harsh breath, grabbing his Litwick and your hand. You both hid under the desk as another violent smash decimated the door.

Bede recalled Litwick as the shuffling of the carpet got close to the desk. There were no other sounds. You held your breath as the desk creaked, something was putting weight on the desk. Bede was sweating and unconsciously grabbed your hand for support. If you stayed put, you were going to get caught. Bede realized this at the same time and you were both ready to run for it.

"Run!" Bede kicked out the back of the desk and a powerful growl came from the other side of the desk. You two bolted for the door, tripping on the broken pieces of the office door on the way out. You hit the floor of the hall immediately and Bede continued to run. You tried to kick off the floor but you yelped and fell back. Bede stopped hearing you yell and looked back at you. A dark shadow took over the doorway behind you. Bede didn't even consider it for a moment and ran back for you. He helped you to your feet and it seemed too late. The shadow was staring into your soul. You and Bede were frozen staring at it.

"CHARIZARD, FLAMETHROWER!" Bede looked over his shoulder and quickly pulled you out of the way of an oncoming fireball. The carpet singed and the walls went up as fire overtook the halls. Leon ran over, picking you up like a ragdoll and flinging you over his shoulder. "Bede, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, She twisted her ankle though-"

"I've got her, Let's go, I can't keep that thing at bay for long!"

* * *

As Leon came into view the gym leaders breathed a sigh of relief. He emerged from the dark center of town holding you in his arms and with Bede at his side. Leon was not happy. While you were champion and more than capable of defending yourself under normal circumstances, you certainly weren't in the condition to do so. Your bruised side began to radiate with a pain you hoped had gone away. You winced, accepting your limitations. Piers ran out of the Pokecenter and his heart sank. He didn't wait for Leon to come, running to him to take you off his hands. Piers couldn't exactly carry you as Leon could but he did help you get to your feet and let you lean on him.

"You alright?"

"I'm good, just hurt my ankle..."

"Where the hell did you two go?"

"They went to the capitol building." Leon ratted you out, clearly disappointed. Bede looked off to the side, not wanting to admit that this was a bad idea. "They were cornered when I found them. You're lucky I went by there-"

"You two don't have near enough powerful pokemon to be there." Piers scolded, "What were you thinking?"

"We were taking the initiative to get off this island." Bede finally said, folding his arms and huffing in annoyance. "I don't expect you to understand be some of us have jobs to get back to."

"Why you little-"

"That's enough, Bede." Leon warned, "We all want to get home but Piers is right, we aren't strong enough to take on whatever is in there. Did you guys at least find anything out in there?"

"The mayor was raising taxes on pokemon catering businesses."

"...There's catering for Pokemon, are the kitchens intact-?"

"Wrong kind of catering, Lee, mate." Piers answered. Leone let that sink in for a moment and Bede pinched the bridge of his nose. "We'll analyze that later. Babe, I'm so glad you're alright." You shied away at the pet name. It even made Leon grin. Piers tried to ignore anyone else's reaction but yours. The cute tint on your cheeks was too much for him. Without thinking he kissed your cheek, making sure not to linger. "Never worry me like that again."

"Y/n! I'm glad you're okay!' Nessa called as you all approached the others. You all stopped outside of the Pokecenter, seeing that Nessa was excited. "I and Marnie have been working on something all day!" Piers raised a brow and looked over to his sister. She seemed tired but proud of herself. "We used the diglet you found to dig out some of the rock. When the tide comes in and goes back out it will leave a small pool filled up. If we use your Charizard to warm the water...." Nessa trailed off playfully, leaving Leon to try and pick up the pieces. Pretty much everyone else got it... except Hop and his brother.

"...Hm... Warm water..." Hop thought aloud. Bede facepalmed and you giggled at your best friend.

"Well, You can borrow Charizard for whatever you need, Nessa," Leon said happily. "Just be careful."

"They made a hot tub out of the rocks." Piers informed, making both Hop and Leon mouth a silent 'oh'. "Good work, Ladies."

"Yeah, all the girls are going to bathe later tonight. We could all get clean and have some much-needed relaxation- It would also be good for Y/n's injuries!"

"It will be for everyone's use I assume?" Bede began. "We all need to bathe and I assume once you're done we can use it."

"I'm not taking a bath with you guys, Screw that." Raihan scoffed, "I'll use it on my own."

"Oh no," Opal started, "No one is going to be alone while we're here. You bathe in a group, or not at all."

"This islands a nightmare!" Raihan complained, walking off into the pokecenter. Allister cocked his head to the side and pointed at Raihan as he left.

"...What's his problem?"

"He's not a huge fan of nudity," Leon noted, "He probably doesn't want to be around other people in that state."

"Oh please," Opal started, waving off that concern, "We're all adults here, we can be civil about these things. Nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm 10." Allister corrected." but... I share his fears."

"Hot water on my aches and pains sounds good right about now," You croaked. Piers quickly agreed and Nessa seemed pleased that you liked her idea. "I'm in. Let me know when it's ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is ridiculously short because I had to rewrite it 4 times and more and more details kept getting lost in the shuffle. I feel like this particular story is plagued with problems like this.


	11. In the Hole

The water bubbled under the intensity of Charizards flames and Nessa dipped a finger in to gauge the temperature. She smiled, practically bursting at the seams to finally use the tub. All the women spent the last 20 minutes looking through busted apartments for towels and various sundries.

Luckily, when things go south shampoo isn't something people pack, so bathrooms in the adjacent apartment building had a lot of bathroom things you could use. You helped collect it all, your impadimp carrying a single bottle of bath bubbles. You couldn't pass up even the smallest bonding experience if you wanted him to get strong enough to get you out of this place.

"I think that's everything." Melony began, staring at the bounty of hygiene products. "Enough for our bath and the men's."

"This is going to be great." Nessa sighed, dreamily staring off in the distance. "Finally, something good happens. It'll be like visiting a hot spring. I've never been to a hot spring!"

"Calm down just a little, Nessa." You joked, "You're about to explode."

"It does sound like a nice little getaway. I'm excited, too." Marnie gushed, covering her cheeks to hide her blush.

"Water's perfect ladies!" Nessa announced, starting to take off her jewelry and put up her hair. "Let's hop in."

* * *

"Got any 3's?"

"Go Fish, Leon!"

"Aw man..." This was boring. Piers was strumming a random tune on his guitar and watching Leon and Hop play Go Fish. Bede was playing fetch with his Litwick and Raihan was just kind of laying on his bed. Milo was also watching the game of Go Fish but seemed more into it. Leon looked up at Raihan, concerned. "You alright, mate?"

"Thinking of Nessa naked."  
  
"Gross." Allister said, spooking Raihan and almost making him fall off the bed. Leon snickered but Hop and Milo looked embarrassed. Piers could care less, continuing to play a light song. Raihan sat upright, shooting Leon a smug look.

"I mean, She's naked and is, what, 20 yards away from here?"

"That's what you're thinking about?" Leon teased, "Of all things?"

"I wonder if I could sneak a... quick peek-"

"Bad idea." Bede cut in, picking up his litwick and petting her. Piers's guitar playing stopped cold. "There are a couple of problems with that. 1: Nessa isn't the only one there. You could accidentally catch Opal naked and I'm 80% sure you don't want that. 2: Since there are multiple people there, you'll probably be caught. Especially since Charizard is out there with them to keep the water hot."

"Also," Piers started, "My sister and my girlfriend are out there. Unless you want Obstagoon to bite your dick off, you aren't leaving this room."

"Piers, Language." Leon warned, not that Piers cared, "but, he's right. Just a bad idea all around to go peeping."

"What if I could guarantee that I would only see Nessa-"

"It's still sleazy!" Milo defended, "You can't do that!"

"And gross." Allister added. Piers chuckled and shook his head.

"Allister, you're not old enough to understand Raihan yet-"

"I'm older than him and still don't understand him!" Leon said, making them all let out a quick laugh. Raihan looked out the window, staring out to the city street. "Why would you even want to do that?"

"I promise I'm not the only one in here who is focused on the fact that outside, right this very second, there is a hole full of naked women-"

"Fuck, don't say it like that," Piers mumbled, picking up his guitar playing once again. "Didn't peg you for a pig, mate-"

"I'm just saying... It's hard to ignore." Raihan defended. To everyone's surprise, Milo nodded.

"It... It's distracting to think about, now that you mention it."

"Not really," Piers commented, just playing his music. Leon seemed to agree with him but Hop's face flushed.

"It... It's really distracting."

"Hop, Not you too! Raihan, You corrupted my brother!"

"You all are fools." Bede started, waving off the entire idea, "They aren't even attractive enough for the risk-"

"Watch it," Piers warned, still playing and trying to ignore the conversation. Bede didn't take kindly to the warning and scoffed.

"Well, It's not my fault your girlfriend is a solid 3/10." The guitar stopped. Piers sucked in a breath, Leon and Raihan covered their mouths with their hands and Milo seem horrified at the response.

"Even you aren't interested in seeing her in that state-"

"First off, you little shit-"

"Piers, language-"

"Who said I wasn't?" Piers challenged, ignoring Leon's plea. "Second, she's beautiful. Maybe if Ballonlea wasn't so dark your fucking eyes would work-"

"So, you'd risk your life on this hot tub nonsense, too?"

"Absolutely not," Piers said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going out there, My sister is out there."

"So, if she wasn't you'd be on board?" Raihan asked, seemingly excited. Piers quickly tried to think of how the conversation turned to this. "So, we just have to get Marnie and Opal to leave!"

"This is the worst conversation I have ever not been apart of!" Milo complained, walking towards the door. "I'm leaving. I'm going to look around and see if I can wrangle up something to eat!"

"I agree with Milo." Piers started, "This is gross-"

"I figured you weren't attracted to her." Bede pressed. In truth, Bede was extremely bored and the idea of seeing Piers and Raihan getting their asses kicked on the back of this sounded just amusing enough to make this day better. "Just admit she isn't worth the risk."

"You aren't seriously falling for that, are you?" Allister asked, being ignored. Piers looked straight to Raihan.

"Look, if somehow, miraculously, Opal and My sister leave then I'm in."

* * *

Your entire body melted into the water and you couldn't help but give a satisfied sigh. Your pain was swallowed by the heat and for a moment you weren't stranded anymore. The comradery was just as endearing.

"So, then I figured I would just not wear heels." Opal reminisced, "Just can't do it anymore."

"I don't like wearing heels casually," Nessa admitted, "I don't get those people that can wear heels anywhere. They're so uncomfortable."

"I've never even owned heels," Marnie mumbled. Nessa tapped her chin before thinking of a nice game they could all play.

"Got it!" Nessa cheered, "Alright, let's rank the boys-"

"Oh, I'm much too old for this." Opal snorted, "Maybe if I was 60 years younger-"

" We shouldn't," Melony started, giving an embarrassed chuckle, "It's not fair."

"I'm going to be honest, Bede is dead last for me." Nessa just threw that out there so bluntly that you just burst into laughter. "I'm serious. Bede is such an ass."

"Who's your top?" You pressed. Marnie quickly shook her head, not wanting to entertain this either.

"Oh, good question... see, Milo is sweet... but Leon is strong ....but Raihan is hot-"

"Nessa!" Melony scoffed playfully, "You're so bad."

"It's so hard to decide. Y/n, who is your top?"

"My boyfriend, obviously." You answered quickly and Marnie couldn't help but appreciate the commitment. Nessa gave you a look.

"Okay, After Piers. Who is the hottest after Piers, for you?"

"Where does my boyfriend land on your list?" You clapped back, just trying not to answer her. She thought about it for about 3 seconds.

"Well, Bede is at the bottom... then there's Hop... then... Then Piers-"

"Piers is a lovely boy," Opal remarked. You thought that would be the end of it but, no. "He'd be at the top of my list if I was back in my prime-"

"This is in the realm of shit I didn't need to know." You whispered to yourself. Marnie heard you and held back a smile.

"Really, You were a wild one back in the day?" Melony asked, nudging the woman. Opal nodded, reaching for a towel she left off to the side.

"Oh yes, I was. I'd hate to cut this short but I can't take this heat much longer."

"I think I'm going to leave, too," Melony lamented. "If I stay much longer I think I'll shrivel up."

"I'm going to get out, too." Marnie announced, standing and grabbing her towel, "I'm clean. That's all I needed. I'm uncomfortable with staying any longer."

"I'm staying," Nessa shrugged. "This is nice..."

"And this is good on my possibly fractured ribs," You added, "So I'm staying."

"Alright, girls," Melony began sweetly, "Don't stay in too long and be careful."


	12. I forgot what I was going to title it so I'll come back later and change this

When the women began walking through the door Piers smirked, content that everyone was coming back at once. His sister greeted him warmly and Melony was in a conversation with Opal about something. He expected you and Nessa to walk in but nothing. Seeing Piers shock, Melony filled him in.

"Oh, Y/n wanted to be out a little longer. She and Nessa are out there, so she isn't alone." Raihan's face lit up and Piers looked horrified. Hop looked up from his game with Leon and Milo put his hand over his mouth so he'd be quiet.

"Ms. Opal," Raihan started, "If you're going to bed, we can take our game of Go fish to the lobby! That way we won't keep you up. Or better, to the building across the street."

"That's so considerate of you, Raihan." Opal smiled, "I am very tired... but I don't want to interrupt your game."

"I know what you're up to," Allister said darkly. His eyes burning with a sinister glow from his mask. Raihan tensed. "I want to go too."

"You are way too young for this." Milo pleaded in a whisper. "Why not just... go to bed-"

"MS. OPAL!" Allister called. Bede snorted as Milo picked the child up, covering his mouth. Piers smacked his hand onto his forehead and Raihan looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Yes, Allister? Everything alright, child?"

"Can I go play Go Fish, too?" Allister begged, kicking his feet cutely in Milo's grasp.

"Well of course. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you coming along... Bede, you accompany them as well-"

"What!?" Bede's panic made Piers smirk. Bede tried to avoid looking at him. "W-Why do I have to go?"

"I'm sure you don't want to sit in here and gossip with a bunch of old Ladies-"

"Oh, Melony, Sweetie, you aren't what I would call old." Opal cut her off and their banter continued. Marnie was already in bed, not minding the light noise of the women talking. Bede weighed his options but didn't have time to think about it. Raihan picked Bede up, put him under his arm, and all of them headed out of the door.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm going along with this," Milo lamented as they left the Pokecenter. Piers folded his arms, unsure if he was at peace with this or if he just didn't care. "I'm such a terrible person."

"It's just human curiosity!" Raihan defended, "We aren't 'terrible'."

"We sure as hell ain't saints." Piers shrugged. There was no talking Raihan out of it now and as painful as it was to admit it, he kind of wanted to go now.

"Language," Leon warned, "Allister is here-"

"Allister, go play somewhere in the dark like a good little... whatever you are." Piers started, "This isn't something children should be involved in."

"It's not something any of you should be involved in either." Allister's words made Piers pause for a second. In the silence, Piers kicked the dirt before turning to Raihan.

"... Fuck, the kids got a point-"

"Piers, Language." Leon tapped the rocker's shoulder to warn him once more, "Allister, I'm headed to the building across the street to play go fish! You can come with me-"

"Nah, I want to do what they're doing."

"This kid..." Bede looked at Allister in mostly disbelief but then an idea hit him. "Have fun dying. I'll join you in Go Fish, Leon and Hop-"

"I... I'm going to go with Raihan and Piers." Hop announced. Piers puffed up his cheeks, not wanting to laugh at the horrified look on Leon's face.

"Little Bro-"

"They all have to grow up sometime!" Raihan cheered, "He's over 18, it's fine-"

"Nothing about this is fine," Piers commented. "We're doing it because we're garbage. Hop, don't do it, man."

"I want to come too!" He asserted. Allister nodded and crossed his arms.

"Allister isn't coming." Piers picked the boy up by the back of his shirt, taking him to a building across the street. "I'm locking you in a closet-"

"Let me go! I want to go too!"

"Not happenin'."

"You aren't leaving him with us!" Bede complained, "Leon, they're going to make us babysit-"

"I"m going, too." Leon finally said. Everyone just stopped. Piers even dropped Allister. "I-I mean... everyone else is doing it-"

"ALRIGHT!" Raihan began to gloat, taking a bit too much enjoyment in this. "Bede, last call, you want to see the two most alluring women in Galar-"

"Hang on," Piers started, going to Raihan and poking him in the chest. "You said you'd keep your eyes off Y/n."

"I mean... they might wander a bit-"

"I've got a team of 6 on my hip, Raihan. Don't make me use them." Piers's threat made Raihan shudder. The dragon trainer turned right around and began walking towards where the bath was.

"A-Alright! Let's move out guys!"

* * *

You dipped yourself in the water, wetting your hair. Charizard was laying beside the pool, occasionally dipping his snout in the water and warming it up. He seemed relaxed, enjoying the night air. You pet his head and he looked at you for a moment, making you flinch, before lying back down and just letting you pet him.

"Didn't realize Charizard needed a spa day, too." Nessa cooed, "He's just a big baby."

"Leon needs to pamper you more." You both shared a laugh as Charizard seemed to agree.  
You and Nessa didn't know it, talking as if all was well, but the jagged rocks that surrounded the pool provided cover for the guys. Raihan peeked out first, a little disappointed to see that the complete submersion prevented him from seeing a thing. Piers popped up next, happy that Riahan couldn't see anything. Allister popped his head up next, only for Piers to push it back down.

"I want to see-"

"Nothin you need to be seeing."

"This was stupid," Bede complained, looking over. "You can't even see anything."

"This was a bad idea." Milo whimpered. He looked anyway, his eyes glued to Nessa's bare shoulders. "Whoa-"

"We're all terrible." Piers groaned, "We are going to get in a lot of trouble."

"It will all be worth it if Nessa stands up just once." Raihan gripped the rock tighter. Piers just rolled his eyes. He wanted to comment on how disgusting that sounded but Leon and Hop poked their heads up.

"What's happening?" Leon sounded so scared. Then he spotted his Charizard. "Aw, look at him down there."

"He's not what I'm looking at," Hop commented, almost in awe. Piers got an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. He couldn't keep tabs on who everyone was looking at, mainly because his eyes were glued to you. You had your head tilted back, eyes closed, and probably enjoying the warmth on your injuries. You looked so at peace and Piers loved that look of Nirvanna on your face. You suddenly shook your head, maybe responding to something Nessa said. You reached for your towel on the side of the- uh oh.

Raihan perked up and Piers slapped his hands over his eyes immediately. With Piers's hands busy, Allister popped back up. Leon grabbed him, keeping him down. Seeing Piers's distress and you reaching for a way out, Milo began to panic, covering Bede and Hops eyes before closing his own. With everyone distracted, you were free to stand. You winced a bit, climbing out of the pool with your sides aching and lamenting the loss of the heat.

Piers looked over completely on accident and his eyes popped wide open. You were sitting delicately on the edge of the pool, unraveling your towel as you sat. With you sitting you were fairly covered but your chest was on full display. Piers was just slack-jawed and drooling a little. Once you wrapped the towel around yourself he let Raihan go. You were covered and already walking off.

"Aw man, I missed it."

"Who was naked?" Allister popped his head back up and Piers pinched the boy's ear.

"Will you get out of here!?"

"Is it safe to open my eyes?" Milo asked.

"Why did we even do this if you were just going to blind everyone!" Bede complained, wiggling out of Milo's grip. Hop got out of the hold as well and raised a brow, seeing the pool with only Nessa lounging.

"...Uh... Guys."

"You tiny pervert," Piers continued to scold Allister, "You need to stay out of grown folks business!"

"I can't believe I didn't catch that..." Raihan cried. "I bet she had huge-"

"Guys!" Hops whisper became more harsh, a few of them tuning in to listen. "Where is Charizard!?"

"oh, that's probably not good..." Leon winced. Almost on cue, the sound of a growl came from behind the group. The men froze, not wanting to turn around to see the culprit. Leon turned around first, seeing Charizard charging up a flamethrower. "BUDDY, NO!"


	13. Dark Times

"What happened to you?"

"I got what I deserved," Piers mumbled, wincing as you patted a damn cloth on his burn. You, Marnie and Melony, treated all the boys who seemed pretty hesitant to talk about where their burns came from. You didn't press them, assuming it must be a good reason why they all aren't talking. "Thanks, Love."

"Ow, ow, Marnie, that hurt," Hop complained. Piers looked over with a smirk, seeing his sister getting sick of Hops whining. "It burns-"

"That's because whatever you all got into mess you up good."

"Hey, guys." Nessa entered the Pokecenter with a cheery smile. "Boy, I am relaxed. The pool is free if you guys want to use it!"

"I don't think my burns could handle hot water." Bede lamented. "It'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"At least they're minor burns!" Milo tried to be optimistic but Bede was still pissed. Leon, having taken a burn a time or two, was managing better than everyone else. "I just wish that we could treat them more effectively."

"I looked for some burn heal," Melony sighed, "It's odd that there are no medical supplies in a whole pokemon center."

"There's another pokecenter deeper into town, I can run down there real quick." You offered. Piers looked up at you, tired but mostly concerned. "I'll be in and out-"

"No, it's dark out." Piers cut you off. Melony put her hand on her cheek, finding the stance adorable. "You are not going anywhere-"

"Then go with me if you have to but I'm going. We're running low on a lot of things anyway." He gritted his teeth but nodded regardless. Nessa had turned up empty on fishing for 2 days, The garden Milo found was rotting and there was no first aid available for any of you.

"Then we can head out now so we'll be back quick," Piers stood up, snapping his fingers so you'd follow him. You stayed close to him as he walked out, trying to ignore the teasing you could hear behind you as you left.

* * *

The walk there was calming and silent but halfway to the other pokecenter Piers swallowed his nerves and linked arms with you. He looked off to the side, his cheeks burning as he tried not to make eye contact with you. You leaned against him sweetly and his nervousness made itself know. He tried to remind himself of the setting to calm his nerves but the way you made him feel outshined even the darkest detail.

"Fuck, You're killing me."

"You linked arms with me, first."

"You expect me to walk all this way and ignore my hot girlfriend?" He really hoped you didn't answer, already embarrassed those words left his mouth no matter how true they were. You approached the pokecenter at the same time so luckily the subject changed. "Here we go. There's no door so we don't have to break in."

"It's unnaturally dark in there, Piers." You noted, walking around the entrance to try and see the lobby. You couldn't see more than half a foot into the building. It seemed wrong. Outside wasn't well lit by any means but it seemed odd that the pokecenter was so much darker than that. Piers released his Toxitricity, who waddled inside to find the nearest light source. He shocked the system, the pokecenter springing to life with lights. Toxitricity grinned and Piers praised his friend immediately with pets.

Piers walked in first with no warning, looking around the rubble in the lobby. Broken glass crunched under his feet and broken tile scraped against it in a sound that irritated both of you. You opened the staff door and many doors lined the hall behind it. You and Piers opened each one with caution. The room with the hospital beds was very clean, much cleaner than the pokecenter you all were seeking refuge in. The janitor's closet was almost empty, only having a few empty buckets inside. The office was unassuming, nothing out of the ordinary. You both were about to pass it by but Toxitricity cocked his head to the side and walked in. Not wanting to leave his pal behind, Piers followed.

"What's going on, Bud? What are you lookin' for?" The pokemon wasted no time forcing open a desk drawer, cheering as he discovered a stash of treats. The Toxitricity began to devour them all and Piers just sighed. "Figures."

"Where is the medicine?"

"Well, there's only one door left so it must be there." Piers left the office without another thought but you hung around and joined Toxitricity at the desk. He was happily stuffing his face and you decided to take a few treats just in case. "Holy Shit."

"Piers, Language-"

"Y/n, get in here." You and Toxitricity looked at each other before walking out of the room to join Piers. He was standing in the hall, staring at the last door. Inside, 3 tall cabinets were covered in locks and chains, pokeballs locked inside tight. The cabinet was filled to the brim with them. "There's hundreds of Pokemon in there..."

"Why?"

"Don't know..." Piers ran his finger over the chains, a thick layer of dust staining his finger. "They've been locked up for a bit... This room doesn't look destroyed either. I think this room's been locked since before whatever happened here."

"Are there pokemon in those balls? Are they okay in there?"

"There's something in them, otherwise they'd be small... but I can't answer the other question." Piers looked around the rest of the room. It was wall to wall with cabinets but only 3 of the cabinets were filled and locked with Pokeballs. The last 2 cabinets were unlocked and had a wide variety of potions and medicine. "Bingo. That's what we came for."

"We're going to come back and check on this, right?"

"Yeah-" Thunder cracked, the very foundation of the building shaking in its wake. Piers jumped but you were much calmer, so naturally, you giggled at him. He crossed the hall to look out in the lobby, surprised to see water sloshing in from the already raging storm outside. The lobby was getting wet, mud mingling with the broken bits of the grout. "You got to be kiddin' me."

"So.. How do we get back?"

"I can't even see out there. It's like the unnatural dark that was in here is now outside. We sure as hell aren't goin' out there."

"So what do we do? If we don't make it back they're going to worry."

"We don't have a choice. They're going to have to worry."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long. I have a ridiculous amount of online obligations. Castlevania Season 3 was announced for March and that means my Castlevania blog and stories need to be up and running again, I started a Monster prom story, I have the other Piers story and a piers blog and Misc Oneshot collections that still get requests for. I just shut down for a few days. Hoping to get back to regular updating soon

You breathed a sigh of relief finally pushing the filing cabinet in front of the doorless entryway. The rain had already spilled into the foyer and you tiptoed carefully back to the back room trying not to slip. As you entered the room, you saw Piers pushing all the cots to one side of the room. All the mattresses were removed from them, laid on the floor beside each other. He didn't wait for you to ask.

"I'm tired of sleeping on these small ass beds... I figured if I push all 5 of these together it'd be the same as a king-sized bed."

"Well, where am I supposed to sleep if you take all the mattresses?"

"With me," Piers shot you a smirk putting a hand on his hip as he gestured to the bed. "If you don't want to I'll give you one back."

"We'll see." You teased, walking over to the window. Piers bit his lip, thinking of what to say next. "I can't see out there at all."

"It's a mess out there. It's hopefully better int he morning. I'm headed to sleep now." Piers kicked his shoes off and stared down at his bed. For a minute you wondered why he was just standing there and suddenly he fell onto the mattresses. "Ugh, that's nice." He let out a muffled groan, cuddling into the mattress. "This can't get any better..."

"Scoot over-"

"Oh, I stand corrected," He sat up, rolling out of the way so you could join him. Before you laid down you grabbed all the blankets that were on the beds, tossing them playfully at Piers. He just smiled. You lowered yourself so gingerly, avoiding your boyfriend's eyes as you settled in. The moment you melted into the cool bed, Piers felt his heart start to pick up in pace. This was a bad idea. You situated yourselves in bed, Piers suddenly bashful. He didn't want to ask what he was thinking. You did, though.

"Big spoon or little spoon?"

"You're kidding right?" He laughed it off, fighting a doofy grin. "I mean... I... I'll just..." He shook it off, taking your hand and gesturing for you to turn your back to him. He laid down, pulling you into his chest. He didn't want to say anything else. He just wanted to hold you. "This alright?" He whispered. He loosened his hold on you, lazily draping his arm over your waist. “I’m not too close, am I?" You answered by nuzzling against him and Piers gave you a sleepy hum. "Good."

"This conglomeration of mattresses is surprisingly comfortable-"

"Yeah, It's weird." Piers already sounded like he was drifting off.

* * *

You awoke to the sound of a pokeball opening, snapping awake with an overwhelming sense of dread. You didn't sit up, trapped in Piers's arms. His Toxitricity was no longer keeping the lights on, curled up at the end of your makeshift bed and snoring cutely. The room was dark, but you don't see and familiar shapes in the blackness. If it wasn't one of Piers pokemon, who got out? You listened in for any kind of telltale sign and suddenly the familiar sound rang through the darkness again. Another Pokeball. This time, Toxitricity stirred, sitting upright and alert.

"Piers." You whispered to him, not wanting to get the attention of the pokemon that must be hiding. He stirred but didn't wake up, "Piers."

"Shut up, Marnie, Santa isn't real-"

"Piers!"

"Huh?" Piers shook off his sleepiness, slowly adjusting to the dark. He was still groggy but recognized something was wrong. "... you alright, Y/n?"

"You told Marnie Santa wasn't real?"

"...We had an argument when she was 3 and I yelled it- anyway, what's going on?"

"You're such an ass Piers-"

"Hey-" Another Pokeball sound from the other room. Piers bolted upright, his eyes narrowing at the darkened hallway. "Did you hear that?"

"I've been hearing it. It's why I woke you up." Another one. Toxitricity's comb began to spark as he backed away from the door to the hall. He looked back to his trainer for some sort of instructions. Piers said nothing. He stood and immediately went to the door, putting his ear to it and listening for any sort of telltale sign of what was out there. Another Pokeball opened. He didn't hear any noise though. Just pokeball's opening. You were just watching Piers until an eerie feeling made you turn around. Out the window, for a brief moment, a purple aura passed by. It was so quick that you weren't even sure you saw it at first.

"I don't hear anything," Piers whispered. You were still staring at the window. Slowly advancing towards it and staring into the blackness. You could just see rain, nothing else. You put your hands on the glass to attempt to get a better look. Right in front of your eyes appeared another pair, sharp and staring directly back into you. You pushed yourself back from the window, wincing at the sudden lurch. Behind the window a Haunter floated, laughing at you before darting off to the side. Hearing the commotion, Piers turned around but not in time to see the Haunter. "Y/n, are you alright?"

"A stupid Haunter scared the shit out of me," Piers smirked but lost it quickly. The door he was leaning against shook violently, a purple aura about it. He back up and a Haunter popped out of the door, waggling it's large drooly tongue around and taunting him. From the wall, more Haunters entered the room. They flew in from all sides. You, Piers and Toxitricity back into each other, the ghost pokemon swirling around you.

"Be Careful! One lick can kill you!"

"Because we needed higher stakes than just being pissed off." Piers complained. "Were all the Pokemon in that cabinet Haunters?" Piers called Toxitricity back, taking his ball and replacing it with another on his hip. His Obstagoon burst into the world with a mighty howl and Piers smirked. "Alright buddy. Let's bring the house down."


End file.
